Spot pricing for US domestic and import API X-42 ERW line pipe “is all over the map,” sources say, adding that ex-mill pricing is “falling by the day.”
Current US domestic spot market prices are being heard at $40-$41 cwt. ($882-$904/mt or $800-$820/nt), ex-Midwest mill. On-the-ground and in-stock, API X-42, however, continues to be available at a discount. “The end-of-year fire-sale pricing should start any day now,” one Texas-based source said.
Looking offshore, US import API X-42 pricing from Korean steelmakers has firmed slightly in the past week, with current futures offers being heard $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) higher than they were seven days ago. Today, the average futures offer range is being heard at $27.50-$28.50 cwt. ($606-$628/mt or $550-$570/nt), DDP loaded truck in US Gulf coast ports. Trader sources say Korean steelmakers are exhibiting an increased firmness with their price points due to increased prices for Chinese hot rolled coil.