US domestic spot prices for electrical resistance welded (ERW) standard pipe have been under pressure since US flats prices began softening in early April, but have fallen at a more rapid pace over the last two weeks.
Since their high of $56.00-$58.00 cwt. ($1,235-$1,279/mt $1,120-$1,160/nt ex-Midwest mill in late April, spot prices for US domestic ERW black plain end (BPE) A53 Grade A standard pipe have fallen $7.00 cwt. ($154/mt or $140/nt) into the current range of $49.00-$51.00 cwt. ($1,080-$1,124/mt or $980-$1,020/nt) ex-Midwest mill--down $2.00 cwt. ($44/mt or $40/nt) in just the last two weeks. The swift decline since late June comes as no surprise to market players, however, as buying activity has been described as "hand-to-mouth" since mid-May.
The main driver of ERW standard pipe spot prices--hot rolled coil (HRC) spot prices--are still falling, indicating that pipe prices still have further room to erode. US domestic HRC spot prices are now in the range of $35.00-$36.00 cwt. ($772-$794/mt or $700-$720/nt) ex-Midwest mill, down $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) since last week, and are still trending downward. And as with previous weeks, with the US standard pipe market still too weak to uphold current spot prices, standard pipe prices will likely continue to drop throughout July, with softening possibly spilling into August.
With US domestic standard pipe spot prices falling at a quickening pace, the already-weak interest in imports is beginning to fade further. Traders report some booking activity for Korean and Indian ERW BPE A53 Grade A standard pipe; sales prices in the US are in the range of $45.50-$46.50 cwt. ($1,003-$1,025/mt or $910-$930/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, unchanged since last week. But with import demand only mediocre, and the margin between US domestic standard pipe prices and import offer prices narrowing, import offers are under pressure to fall throughout July, as well.