Prices for unfinished J55 ERW OCTG casing in the US domestic market from Korea have once again remained lateral, at $42.50-$44.00 cwt. ($937-$970/mt or $850-$880/nt), DDP loaded truck in US Gulf coast ports, but sources close to SteelOrbis say there is still “quite a bit of hesitation” when it comes to placing orders with Korean mills.
“There are a lot of folks who are punting on new bids,” one source said. “A lot of people are still scared about what might happen with ITC’s trade case review.”
The annual review of the antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) case against oil country tubular goods imports from Korean steelmakers is still pending, sources note, adding that there is still quite a bit of uncertainty about the results. Some are concerned that the current dumping margins, which span from 3.98 percent to 5.24 percent, could be revised “to a much higher rate, and implemented retroactively.”