Purchasing activity in the US standard pipe market continues to be light as buyers expect US domestic prices to fall sooner rather than later.
With the most commonly reported US domestic spot prices for hot rolled coil (HRC) now in the $39.00-$41.00 cwt.($860-$904/mt or $740-$820/nt) ex-Midwest mill range-down $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) in the last week, standard pipe prices will soon follow. Although domestic pipe mills are trying to keep prices from tumbling, their efforts will likely prove futile as buyers anticipate that spot prices for electric resistance weld (ERW) black plain end (BPE) A53 Grade A standard pipe will fall approximately $5.00 cwt. ($110/mt or $100/nt) by late Q2 and early Q3, and are therefore avoiding placing orders beyond what is immediately needed.
Meanwhile, some import offers have already fallen in an attempt to revive what has been slow booking activity in the last couple months. Taiwanese offers of ERW BPE A53 Grade A standard pipe to the US have dropped about $0.50 cwt. ($11/mt or $10/nt) in the last two weeks into the range of $48.00-$49.00 cwt. ($1,058-$1,080/mt or $960-$980/nt) duty-paid FOB loaded truck in US Gulf ports with a few offers heard even slightly below. Offers from India to the US are within the same range, with buying activity staying steady, and consistently stronger than for Taiwanese pipe. According to the United States Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis System (SIMA), while Taiwan has only exported-on average-3,000 mt of standard pipe per month to the US in the last 12 months, India regularly exports approximately 5,000-7,000 mt of standard pipe to the US per month.
Although Taiwanese and Indian standard pipe offers to the US are the most competitive, other offshore mills have been adjusting their offers downward, in hopes of sparking activity. Standard pipe offers from Dubai have fallen about $4.00 cwt. ($88/mt $80/nt) to $49.00-$50.00 cwt. ($1,080-$1,102/mt or $980-$1,000/nt) duty-paid FOB loaded truck in US Gulf ports in the last two weeks, after remaining unchanged throughout most of April. Interest in the offer is still sparse however-one trader in the South told SteelOrbis that "while the lower price makes Dubai offers more competitive, with August deliveries, buying activity is still non-existent."