Spot pricing within the
US domestic standard pipe markets has taken a $2.50 cwt. ($55/mt or $50/nt) hit since our last report a week ago, as
US mills’ are folding to the pressures of soft order books and falling raw materials costs. “It’s pretty much the same across the board,” according to one Midwest-based source. “If the mills’ can make a price work based on their input costs, they’re willing to make it work.”
The new most commonly reported
US domestic transaction range is now fluttering between $42.50-$43.50 cwt. ($937-$959/mt or $850-$870/nt), ex-Midwest mill.
Offshore producers are equally hungry for orders, according to trader sources, and have revised their prices downward as well. Futures offers from
Korea,
Turkey and
Vietnam have all ticked down by approximately $2.00 cwt. ($44/mt or $40/nt) since our last report two weeks ago, bringing those ranges to $33-$35 cwt. ($728-$772/mt or $660-$700/nt), DDP loaded truck
US Gulf Coast ports, although buyers who are looking to book larger-sized orders can get deals slightly below that range.