The
US Department of Commerce Friday announced their preliminary determinations in their anti-dumping trade case against imported line pipe from
Turkey and
Korea; although the preliminary margins levied against Turkish producers were listed between 3.11 percent and 9.85 percent, announced margins against Korean producers were between 2.52 and 2.76 percent.
Trader sources have said they aren’t exactly surprised, especially since Korean pipe mills received 0 percent margins during the preliminaries in the OCTG case. They are, however, quick to point out that those numbers changed by quite a bit once the final determination was handed down.
Others point out that the low margins aren’t likely to cause any change in buying patterns from Korean mills, especially since they will sign on as the importer of record for
US-bound shipments of line pipe.
Prices, however, remain unmoved.
US domestic prices continue to hold at approximately $45.00-$46.00 cwt. ($992-$1,014/mt or $900-$920/nt), ex-Midwest mill; while futures offers from Vietnamese and Taiwanese prices continue to hold at about $35.00-$36.00 cwt. ($772-$794/mt or $700-$720/nt), DDP loaded truck in
US Gulf coast ports, but as with previous weeks, none of that pricing is set in stone.