Most oil country tubular goods (OCTG) are tied up in drilling programs and sources tell SteelOrbis that many of these programs were quoted at prices substantially below current US domestic J55 electric resistance welded (ERW) OCTG casing spot prices, which are between $66.00-$67.00 cwt. ($1,455-$1,477/mt or $1,320-$1,340/nt) ex-mill, unchanged from last week. As a result, mills may face challenges trying to implement their previously-announced increases because prices for programs were substantially lower.
Stiff import competition is also hindering the US domestic market, as import activity continues to be strong--confidence that US domestic spot prices will remain high has many US buyers turning to imports, especially under the expectation that import prices are anticipated to rise soon. Current offer prices may no longer be valid within the next few weeks, but for now Turkish sales prices in the US are $47.50-$48.50 cwt. ($1,047-$1,069/mt or $950-970/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, unchanged from last week, while Korean prices currently range from 49.00-$51.00 cwt. ($1,080-$1,124/mt or $980-$1,020/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports with offer prices from Taiwan within a similar range.