April 2012 | Seamless Steel Tube & Pipe
OCTG prices weaker in April as demand continues to shift: Americas Market Analysis
In mid-April, producers of construction and mechanical tubing – both seamless and welded – announced price hikes of $30-40/ton on shipments beginning in May.
In April, OCTG prices displayed modest declines as ample supplies, falling raw materials costs and shifting demand weighed on the market. As has been the case in recent months, supplies of high-grade seamless material is tighter and prices are resilient to weakening forces. But, inventories of commodity-grade tonnage, both seamless and welded, are on the rise as domestic shipments and imports compete for sales. Meanwhile, scrap costs in April retreated $10-20/l.ton for the obsolete grades and $15/l.ton for prime bundles and busheling scrap, curbing the cost-push support for pricing increases. Demand remains firm, but the shifting trend from dry natural gas wells to wet oil and gas wells that started last year is taking its toll on the market. Demand appears to be moving in the direction of seamless and high-grade welded OCTG. As a result, prices for seamless OCTG have held up better than that of welded OCTG, with...
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