As with last week, market conditions within the US domestic and import J55 ERW OCTG casing markets are flat.
“The market is dead,” a source told SteelOrbis. “Sales slowed to a crawl in the first quarter of 2019 and inventories are piling up. The pile up is going to take 3-4 months to work through.”
A second source agreed. “It feels like we are close to having inquiries materialize but it still isn’t happening in the way people want. Inventories are definitely high-priced as consumption by end users gets further delayed (for various reasons). Sellers continue to lower prices in hopes of moving that high-priced inventory.”
For now, domestic spot market prices for US domestic J55 ERW OCTG casing remain in the “official” range of $60.00-$62.50 cwt. ($1,322-$1,378/mt or $1,200-$1,250/nt), ex-mill, although deals are becoming increasingly prevalent.
In terms of imports, sources have confirmed that Korean finished J55 ERW OCTG casing in the US domestic market is being sold at approximately $62.50 cwt. ($1,378/mt or $1,250/nt), ex-warehouse.