Sources close to SteelOrbis say that they expect that spot market prices for US domestic J55 ERW OCTG casing could soon start to tick upward, especially since US HRC prices have started to firm.
Two weeks ago, US domestic flat rolled steel mills announced they would be raising prices on all US flat rolled steel products by a minimum of $2.00 cwt. ($44/mt or $40/nt), effective with all new orders, and while many were initially skeptical that flats mills would succeed, US HRC prices have since started to tick upward.
That upward momentum, sources note, could lead to price firming within the US OCTG spot market as well.
Current spot market prices for US domestic J55 ERW casing, however, have remained lateral week-over-week at $47.50-$50.00 cwt. ($1047-$1102/mt or $950-$1000/nt), ex-mill; pricing for import OCTG casing from Taiwan in the US domestic market is also steady, at $41.00-$42.50 cwt. ($904-$937/mt or $820-$850/nt), DDP loaded truck in US Gulf coast ports.
In terms of current import arrivals, the most recent data from the US Department of Commerce shows that for the month of October, the US imported 233,538 mt (license data) of OCTG goods from offshore sources. Current data suggests a slight drop off from September, when the US imported 296,975 mt (preliminary census data) of OCTG from global sources.