After several weeks (since approximately mid-May) of steady weekly price decreases, most import pipe offers are firming up this week, once US traders get back to work after the short holiday.
Foreign mills' ability to now keep prices firm and even for some to begin announcing increases undoubtedly has little to do with current demand levels. In fact, the consensus from many traders is that demand for offshore pipe has actually waned further since last month. However, increasing hot rolled coil (HRC) prices in most foreign regions, most notably Korea, Taiwan and Turkey, have finally affected their pipe prices. Since offshore demand remains weak, with lower prices not likely to make any difference in potential bookings, it's possible that import pipe prices may begin to experience an uptick in the near future.
Regarding specific products, not much has changed in recent weeks, with the past week having been particularly slow due to the holiday. While oil country tubular goods (OCTG) can still be labeled as the most attractive import pipe product, even its demand has slowed considerably since spring. For now, the most competitive API J55 electric resistance welded (ERW) OCTG casing offers continue to be seen from Korea, ranging from approximately $50.00 cwt. to $52.00 cwt. ($1,101/mt to $1,146/mt or $1,000/nt to $1,040/nt) duty-paid, FOB loaded truck in US Gulf ports.
Looking at the US rig counts, according to Baker Hughes, after a couple dips seen in May, the total number of active rig counts has increased for four consecutive weeks, with the total count at 1,557 for the week ending July 2, 2010. The US rig count increase will probably not contribute to much additional OCTG casing tonnage coming from overseas, though, which, according to the Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis System (SIMA), is already seeing a dip in June arrivals. Imports for this product have been reported at 172,698 mt (license data), compared to 210,647 mt (preliminary census data) in May.
Import offers on Korean API X42 ERW line pipe mostly range from approximately $46.00 cwt. to $47.00 cwt. ($1,014/mt to $1,036/mt or $920/nt to $940/nt) duty-paid, FOB loaded truck in US Gulf ports, with most Turkish offers for the same product being found at or slightly above Korean prices.
In terms of structural standard pipe, this product continues to attract the least attention from US import buyers. While the preliminary antidumping duties (AD) placed on many Korea, Turkish and Indian mills certainly don't help the cause, The lackluster US construction market is believed to be the primary culprit. Most imported electric resistance welded (ERW) black plain end (BPE) A53 Grade A standard pipe from Turkey and India have actually ticked up slightly by about $0.50 cwt. ($11/mt or $10/nt) since our last report two weeks ago and may now be found hovering around $44.00 cwt. to $45.00 cwt. ($970/mt to $992/mt or $880/nt to $900/nt) duty-paid, FOB loaded truck in US Gulf ports. Korean offers, though, tend to be on the higher end of that range, currently being reported in the approximate range of $45.00 cwt. to $46.00cwt. ($992/mt to $1,014/mt or $900/nt to $920/nt) duty-paid, FOB loaded truck in US Gulf ports.