Import prices for unfinished J55 electric resistance welded (ERW) oil country tubular goods (OCTG) casing have stabilized in the past seven days, although deals below the average transaction ranges are readily available for buyers who are looking to book sizeable orders. A week ago, SteelOrbis reported that week-over-week offer prices from Korea and Taiwan declined by approximately $0.75 cwt. ($17/mt or $15/nt) to $45.00-$45.50 cwt. ($992-$1,003/mt or $900-$910/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, whereas prices from Vietnam and India dipped by about $1.25 cwt. ($28/mt or $25/nt) to$44.50-$45.00 cwt. ($981-$992/mt or $890-$900/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports. The reason for the decline was twofold: offshore mills are hungry for orders and raw material costs in the Far East have softened. Traders have said that the price flexibility has not spurred a flurry of order placement, and the trend of buy-as-you-need is expected to continue.
Meanwhile, the market has also remained steady for US domestic finished J55 ERW OCTG casing. This is not to say that spot prices are entirely stable--although the most commonly reported transaction range is unchanged in the past week and is still between $60.00-$61.00 cwt. ($1,323-$1,345/mt or $1,200-$1,220/nt) ex-Midwest mill, deals as much as much as $3.00 cwt. ($66/mt or $60/nt) below that range are available for buyers interested in booking larger orders, as they have been for the past couple months. Industry insiders have confirmed that inventories continue to be closely managed, and buyers are only booking what they need to fill gaps in their stock.