Korean producers of unfinished J55 ERW oil country
tubular goods (OCTG) casing are no longer as confident that their final margins in the still-pending antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) case will come in at the preliminary determined 0 percent margin. Sources close to SteelOrbis say the International Trade Commission (ITC) has recently visited Nexsteel, one of the mills named in the suit, and that Korean sentiment has changed from very confident to concerned. Not surprisingly, traders have become increasingly wary about taking on program tons using existing quotes for third and fourth quarter deliveries. For now, import prices out of both
Korea and Taiwan have held steady in the past seven days, with low-end ranges spanning between $42.50-$43.50 cwt. ($937-$959/mt or $850-$870/nt), DDP loaded truck
US Gulf coast ports, while first-tier mills continue to offer in ranges approximately $1.50-$2.00 cwt. ($33-$44/mt or $30-$40/nt) higher.
In terms of domestic market happenings, the most commonly reported spot price transaction range may be unchanged in the past week, still at $59.00-$61.00 cwt. ($1,300-$1344/mt or $1,180-$1,220/nt), ex-Midwest mill, although many believe if the final determinations in the trade case do in fact come in high, that prices could finally begin to firm.