Hurricane Harvey continues to dump rain throughout the Gulf coast, and many expect that US domestic steel mills, including pipe mills, will raise prices due to dampened imports and an expected uptick in domestic demand.
Sources close to SteelOrbis continue to report that there are a number of shipments that are still on boats at the Port of Houston; shipments have been unable to unload, sources say, and there is still no final indication as to how much imported steel has been damaged.
Further, Texas-based sources have said that while some service centers are reporting that their inventory is fine, others have yet to be able to access their yards to access possible damage.
For now, current spot market prices for Grade A ERW BPE continues to remain stable, at $46-$48 cwt. ($1014-$1058/mt or $920-$960/nt), ex-mill; although most transactions are taking place at the top of that range.