Following a heavy import month in March, arriving oil country tubular goods (OCTG) casing imports in the US this month continue to put pressure on US domestic spot prices. While trader sources tell SteelOrbis that most of the imported J55 electric resistance welded (ERW) OCTG casing is tied to specific customers, quite a bit is coming in unsold, after numerous traders purchased positions earlier this year on the heels of an improving rig count and growing customer demand. Multiple traders commented that unfinished import J55 ERW OCTG casing is being sold for about $51.00-$52.00 cwt. ($1,124-$1,146/mt or $1,020-$1,040/nt) ex-dock. Meanwhile, US domestic spot prices are unchanged from last week and are largely between $66.00-$67.00 cwt. ($1,455-$1,477/mt or $1,320-$1,340/nt) ex-Midwest mill, although select deals below continue to be widely reported.
Futures offers from offshore are stable from last week, as many buyers still anticipate that there may be a drop in prices. Additionally, with US buyer inventories and availability sufficient, there is little need to rush placing an order. Regardless, Korea, India and Taiwan are offering J55 ERW OCTG casing to the US in the range of $47.50-$48.50 cwt. ($1,047-$1,069/mt or $950-$970/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, while offers from Turkey, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines are about $0.50 cwt. ($11/mt or $10/nt) lower.