Those looking to book larger tonnages on
US domestic API X-42 electric resistance welded (ERW) line pipe can still negotiate deals as much as $3.00-$5.00 cwt. ($66-$110/mt or $60-$100/nt) below the average spot price range, which has remained neutral in the past week at $54.00-$55.00 cwt. ($1,191-$1,212/mt or $1,080-$1,100/nt) ex-Midwest mill. This isn’t to say those orders are overly abundant; demand is steady, but is nothing to write home about. Buyers aren’t exactly jumping to book larger orders, and are instead only booking what they need in order to fill gaps in their inventory.
Meanwhile, import offers for import API X-42 ERW line pipe are also unchanged in the past week. The most commonly reported sales prices in the
US from
Korea,
Taiwan and
Vietnam have remained at $40.50-$41.50 cwt. ($893-$915/mt or $810-$830/nt) DDP loaded truck in
US Gulf ports. Trader sources have cited a belief that many of the offshore pipe mills that have been named in the AD/CVD petitions against oil country
tubular goods (OCTG) imports will soon enter the line pipe market with “guns blazing.” If this happens, and downward pressure on import line pipe sales prices begin to emerge and a trade petition against line pipe will likely follow.