Standard pipe spot prices in the US domestic market came down considerably in May and are likely to decline further before the end of June.
Electric resistance welded (ERW) A53 Grade A standard pipe spot prices have fallen into the range of $52.00-$54.00 cwt. ($1,146-$1,190/mt or $1,040-$1,080/nt) ex-Midwest mill-down approximately $4.00 cwt. ($88/mt or $80/nt) in the last month with prices expected to erode further in the next couple weeks. Mill order entry rates have been slow throughout the second quarter and consequently, several deals have been reportedly offered, especially for buyers willing to take possession of significant tonnage-but such buyers are especially scarce right now.
Domestic pipe inventories continue to be lean as buyers are only placing orders "for sold requirements," according to one Southern distributor; "anything beyond that can wait." The ongoing hand-to-mouth mentality is adverse affecting futures booking; and while traders report steady activity for Indian ERW A53 Grade A standard pipe offers, still in the range of $48.00-$49.00 cwt. ($1,058-$1,080/mt or $960-$980/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, little else is rousing much interest.
Other ERW A53 Grade A standard pipe offers are available from Taiwanese and Korean mills, still in the range of $48.00-$49.00 cwt. ($1,058-$1,080/mt or $960-$980/nt) DDP load loaded truck in US Gulf ports. Offer prices from Dubai have not changed in the last week either, and are still $49.00-$50.00 cwt. ($1,080-$1,102/mt or $980-$1,000/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports.
As for arriving imports, the US imported 62,994 mt of standard pipe in April according to preliminary census data from the US Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis System (SIMA), and 66,384 mt (license data) in May, compared to 70,163 mt imported in March. Canada is still the number one source of import standard pipe in US, exporting 12,601 mt in May, but Thailand wasn't far behind with 10,397 mt exported to the US in May. May pipe exports from Thailand reached the highest level since last October in May. And on average, Thailand has exported less than 4,000 mt of standard pipe to the US in the last year.