As a result of the antidumping and countervailing duty petitions against OCTG from the US' major import sources, new futures offers for unfinished J55 electric resistance welded (ERW) oil country tubular goods (OCTG) casing have now fallen silent. Just a week ago, Korean and Taiwanese offer prices were $42.50-$43.50 cwt. ($937-$959/mt or $850-$870/nt), while prices from Vietnam were in the range of $42.25-$43.25 cwt. ($931-$954/mt or $845-$865/nt), all DDP loaded truck US Gulf Coast ports. Trader sources speculate that with imports from the nine countries named in the trade case (including Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam) are no longer a viable option for US buyers, that import offers from Western European countries could emerge before the end of the year. Trader sources say their current inventories are relatively healthy, and few if any are trying to court futures prices from offshore mils anyhow.
In the meantime, prices for US domestic OCTG casing have held steady in the past week, but questions as to when and if they will begin to climb continue to abound. The most commonly reported spot price range for US domestic finished J55 ERW OCTG casing has held steady in the past seven days and is still $60.00-$61.00 cwt. ($1,323-$1,345/mt or $1,200-$1,220/nt) ex-Midwest mill. This is not to say that range is set in stone; deals as much as $3.00 cwt. ($66/mt or $60/nt) lower are easily attainable on larger orders. Buyers have said that although the number of rigs drilling for oil is healthy, at 1,391 as of the close of last week, supply of OCTG casing still outweighs demand.