Service centers and distributors continue to report the recent AD/CVD duty margins in the oil country
tubular goods (OCTG) case are still making waves within the market. Although new Taiwanese offers have not yet made their way through the marketplace, sources say they’re hearing whatever those numbers manifest as will not come packaged as “all duties paid”. New Korean offers, however, have been heard in the approximate range of $52.00-$53.00 cwt. ($1,146-$1,168/mt or $1,040-$1,060/nt), reflecting an approximate $4.50 cwt. ($99/mt or $90/nt) increase from pricing seen two weeks ago. In addition, Ukrainian-based Interpipe has announced they’ve signed a suspension agreement with the
US Department of Commerce, who will define minimum prices for OCTG to be sold in the
US market. Trader sources have said if anything, the announcement has made doing business more difficult, because it’s hard to get many of the offshore producers to commit to firm pricing.
Domestic prices, however, have held neutral, with the most commonly reported spot price transaction range remaining at $59.00-$61.00 cwt. ($1,300-$1344/mt or $1,180-$1,220/nt) ex-Midwest mill. Sources close to SteelOrbis say that while they feel the AD/CVD margin announcement is good news for domestics, they’re still waiting for the case to be finalized in September for
US producers to consider adjusting their asking range.