Two weeks ago, SteelOrbis reported at $2.00 cwt. ($44/mt or $40/nt) price firming had been achieved by
US domestic electric resistance welded (ERW) black plain end (BPE) Grade A standard pipe producers, but now that scrap and hot rolled coil (HRC) pricing has started to soften, the logical question is whether standard pipe will soon follow. At this point, scrap prices within most regions of the
US have trended down by about $10/lt for June buys, and as of late last week, HRC prices had ticked down by $0.50 cwt. ($11/mt or $10/nt). Both of those market segments are expected to see additional sliding as the summer forges on. And considering demand, order activity and inquires for standard pipe is steady, but hardly “booming”, mills’ may have an increasingly difficult time in getting customers to pay the newly higher prices.
For now, both futures and
US domestic prices have trended sideways, with the domestic spot price range still at approximately to $47.00-$48.00 cwt. ($1,036-$1,058/mt or $940-$960/nt) ex-Midwest mill, with futures prices from
Taiwan and Vietnam still trending at $38.50-$39.50 cwt. ($849-$871/mt or $770-$790/nt) and $39.00-$40.00 cwt. ($860-$882/mt or $780-$800/nt), respectively, both DDP loaded truck in
US Gulf Coast ports.