Both US domestic and import standard pipe offers for the US have increased since early March, although demand and order activity levels are still soft.
With the latest $6.25 cwt. ($595/mt or $540/nt) spot price increase on standard pipe-announced by various pipe mills sporadically over the past two weeks-transaction prices are moving up, but the marketplace is not fully absorbing the increase just yet. Purchasing activity for standard pipe is static at the moment according to one mill source, noting that while order books have not fallen off the table, order activity is certainly not rising either. Most buyers are making smaller and fewer orders as they attempt to gauge whether or not recent increases will stick, and how much higher hot rolled coil (HRC) prices will rise.
Spot prices for HRC are currently $43.00-$45.00 cwt. ($948-$992/mt or $860-$900/nt) ex-Midwest mill, and with another increase in mill asking prices much anticipated for May delivery as early as late this week/early next week, making it likely that standard pipe prices will continue to rise as well over the next one to two months. For now, electric resistance weld (ERW) black plain end (BPE) A53 Grade A standard pipe spot prices have increased $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) since late February/early March to $57.00-$59.00 cwt. ($1,257-$1,301/mt or $1,140-$1,180/nt) ex-mill. A few spot orders are still being reported just below $57.00 cwt., however they are quickly fading.
Confidence in rising pricing US standard pipe prices is waning, and consequently, imports activity levels are low. Traders indicated that US buyers are holding off on placing orders offshore until US domestic prices settle. Once US prices do exude some sense of long term stability, interest in offshore offers, which are approximately $7.00-$8.00 cwt. ($154-$176/mt or $140-$160/nt) below US domestic spot prices, will increase. Regardless, Taiwanese and Korean offers of ERW BPE A53 Grade A standard pipe currently range from $50.00-$51.00 cwt. ($1,102-$1,124/mt or $1,000-$1,020/nt) duty-paid FOB loaded truck in US Gulf ports, a $1.00 cwt. increase on the low end since our last report two weeks ago, and are expected to continue to move up due to rising HRC prices in the Taiwanese and Korean domestic markets.