Traders interested in booking large import orders of API X-42 electric resistance welded (ERW) line pipe have been able to essentially name their own price. The average import sales price from Korea and Taiwan in the US has held steady in the past week, still at $41.75-$42.75 cwt. ($920-942/mt or $835-$855/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports. The same is true for the average import sales prices out of Vietnam, which continue to be reported in the approximate range of $42.25-$43.25 cwt. ($931-$950/mt or $845-$865/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports. Industry insiders, though, have informed SteelOrbis of bookings of Korean and Vietnamese line pipe as much as $2.25 cwt. ($50/mt or $45/nt) below the above ranges for larger orders. At the same time, however, most traders are reluctant to book futures until prices show signs of bottoming.
Prices are also far from firm in the US domestic market and spot prices for API X-42 ERW line pipe continue to range from $54.00-$55.00 cwt. ($1,191-$1,212/mt or $1,080-$1,100/nt) ex-Midwest mill, unchanged in the past seven days. Lead times are still short, hovering at about four weeks, and buyers say that deals as much as $3.00-$5.00 cwt. ($66-$110/mt or $60-$100/nt) below the average spot range are easily negotiable for those wanting to book larger tonnages.