It has been long expected that the recently filed trade case against nine offshore sources of imported unfinished J55 electric resistance welded (ERW) oil country
tubular goods (OCTG) casing would lead to price firming within the
US domestic market, and this expectation has finally come to pass. Producers of
US domestic finished J55 electric resistance welded (ERW) oil country
tubular goods (OCTG) casing have announced a $5.00 cwt. ($110/mt or $100/nt) increase, which was to take effect just as people were returning to work from the Labor Day holiday weekend. The most commonly reported transaction range, however, has not yet changed and is still in the approximate range of $58.00-$61.00 cwt. ($1,279-$1,344/mt or $1,160-$1,220/nt) ex-Midwest mill, depending on the size of the order. Demand may be steady, according to industry insiders, but it’s not strong enough to support price firming; especially when September import tonnages for OCTG casing to the
US are expected to surpass August import tons, which were at the highest level in the past 13 months.
Meanwhile, trader sources have said that they are also starting to increase prices for already on-the-ground and still arriving OCTG casing from
Korea and
Taiwan that had been booked earlier this year. The most commonly reported
US sales price for unfinished J55 ERW OCTG casing from both countries has ticked up by about $2.50 cwt. ($55/mt or $50/nt) and is now In the approximate range of $45.00-$46.00 cwt. ($992-$1,014/mt or $900-$920/nt). New offshore offerings for unfinished J55 ERW OCTG casing, however, have continued to trend quiet, and this trend is expected to sustain until after the ITC makes its determinations with regard to the trade case.