Import standard pipe prices for the US have fallen in the last two weeks, while US standard pipe mills struggle to keep their current spot prices intact.
After falling about $2.00-$3.00 cwt. ($44-$66/mt or $40-$60/nt) in late June, Indian and Korean standard pipe mills had kept offer prices to the US relatively neutral. However, since our last report two weeks ago, Indian and Korean electric resistance welded (ERW) BPE A53 Grade A standard pipe prices have fallen about $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) to the current range of $44.50-$45.50 cwt. ($981-$1,003/mt or $890-$910/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports. Even with the decline, and an approximate $5.00 cwt. ($110/mt or $100/nt) spread between notable import and US spot prices, activity is anemic.
While futures bookings are light, import orders placed a few months back continue to arrive into the US steadily. According to the US Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data, the US imported 72,900 mt (license data) of standard pipe in July compared to 65,547 mt (preliminary census data) in June, and 73,666 mt (census data) in May. Canada remained the top source of imported standard pipe in the US in July, with 13,889 mt, but Vietnam wasn't far behind, accounting for 11,678 mt compared to 3,295 mt in June and an average of under 3,000 mt per month over the previous 24 months. Other major sources of imported standard pipe to the US in July were India (6,706 mt), the UAE (5,479 mt) and Thailand (5,561 mt).
As for the US domestic standard pipe market, little has changed in the last two weeks as ERW BPE A53 Grade A standard pipe prices haven't moved from the range of $49.00-$51.00 cwt. ($1,080-$1,124/mt or $980-$1,020/nt) ex-Midwest mill. However, with end-use demand low (the US Census Bureau reported Monday that construction spending only rose 0.2 percent in June after falling in May), and hot rolled coil (HRC) spot prices dropping another $1.00 cwt. in the last week to $32.00-$34.00 cwt. ($705-$750/mt or $640-$680/nt) ex-Midwest mill, there is little to support current domestic standard pipe spot prices, and another downward adjustment is likely imminent by mid-August.