It’s been one week since the
US Department of Commerce announced the preliminary dumping determinations on the oil country
tubular goods (OCTG) anti-dumping case, and those within the
US market are still digesting the vastly unexpected low margins. Prior to the announcement, Korean mills had been offering unfinished J55 electric resistance weld (ERW) oil country
tubular goods (OCTG) casing to the
US in the approximate range of $47.25-$48.25 cwt. ($1,041-$1,063/mt or $945-$965/nt) DDP loaded truck in
US Gulf ports, but SteelOrbis sources have confirmed that for the right tonnages, some mills are open to deals in the range of $43.75-$44.75 cwt. ($965-987/mt or $875-$895/nt) DDP loaded truck in
US Gulf ports, which essentially brings import pricing back to pre-trade-case-announcement levels.
Meanwhile, domestic producers are concerned last week’s announcement could potentially open the proverbial import floodgates, which could then lead to downward price pressure in the
US domestic market. For now, the most commonly reported spot price transaction range for domestic finished J55 ERW OCTG casing is 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, with many saying they’re waiting to see where the dust settles before making any significant buys.