Many in the steel industry have taken much of this week off, which has resulted in continued neutral market conditions for US domestic API X-42 electric resistance welded (ERW) line pipe, with the stable trend anticipated to continue through the first week of January. The most commonly reported domestic line pipe spot price range continues to be between $54.00-$55.00 cwt. ($1,191-$1,212/mt or $1,080-$1,100/nt) ex-Midwest mill, unchanged in the past week, with oversaturation and short lead times negatively impacting the market. Spot prices remain easily negotiable for larger orders.
Import activity is also relatively light, also mostly due to the holiday week, although less than exciting demand is also taking its toll. Offer prices to the US for API-X42 ERW line pipe from Vietnam, Taiwan and Turkey continue to be in the range of $42.50-$43.50 cwt. ($937-$959/mt or $850-$870/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, reflecting no change since last week. Korean offers are also unchanged and are still in the range of $43.00-$44.00 cwt. ($948-$970/mt or $860-$880/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports. Deals for on-the-ground line pipe purchased as traders' positions are also still available at $3.00-$5.00 cwt. ($66-$110/mt or $60-$100/nt) below current futures offer prices.