Offshore offers of US import J55 ERW OCTG casing from Korea and Taiwan have continued to trend quiet since our last report a week ago; trader sources continue to report that both Korean and Taiwanese OCTG casing mills are still evaluating their input costs, putting a pause on new orders. It’s believed that once mills in this region resume offering unfinished J55 ERW OCTG casing to US-based traders, offer prices will be higher than previously heard offer price ranges due to upticks in global raw materials costs.
Other sources close to SteelOrbis have confirmed hearing that mills in these countries have also cancelled a number of recent orders that were placed by US-based traders, due to mills’ uncertainty regarding input costs.
Earlier this month, SteelOrbis reported that unfinished US import J55 ERW OCTG casing from Korea in the US domestic market had been heard at approximately $37.50 cwt. ($827/mt or $750/nt), DDP loaded truck in US Gulf coast ports; while the most commonly heard offer pricing for US import J55 ERW OCTG casing from Taiwan in the US domestic market had been heard in the approximate range of $35.50-$36.50 cwt. ($783-$805/mt or $710-$730/nt), DDP loaded truck in US Gulf coast ports.