Current import J55 ERW OCTG casing pricing from Taiwan in the US domestic market continues to be heard at $50.00-$51.25 ($1102-$1130/mt or $1000-$1025), DDP loaded truck in US Gulf coast ports, but market players throughout the US say there’s still an element of uncertainty with regard to pricing.
One market source described the current state of the market as being a “roller coaster to nowhere,” adding that it’s widely believed that the current state of import tariffs could change on a moment’s notice.
Another source indicated that rising prices for steel have some natural gas drillers indicating that if prices continue to go up, they may “lay down their rigs because drilling will no longer be cost-effective.”
“Just because the news cycles are more focused on other items out of Washington, D.C., that’s not to say the steel market is out of the woods,” he said.