Still-weak global oil prices continue to place a damper on both the US domestic and import API X-42 line pipe markets.
Many US drillers say that current oil barrel price points, which continue to remain volatile due to production that is outpacing demand, are profit-prohibitive. It is therefore not believed that drilling efforts in the US, which have showed marked year-on-year declines, will begin an upward climb until global oil prices start to stabilize.
Sources close to SteelOrbis say that all of this continues to have a negative impact on the US domestic and import API X-42 line pipe markets. “All of us who bought material last summer are upside down on it,” one trader source said. “If I sold all of it today we’d lose hundreds per ton.”
In terms of current spot market prices, a number of sources continue to report that “prices are whatever it takes to book an order.” Although the most recently quoted futures prices from Korean and Taiwanese producers are in an official range of $25.50-$26.50 cwt. ($562-$586/mt or $510-$530/nt), DDP loaded truck in US Gulf Coast ports, mill reps in both countries are open to negotiating deals. Domestic spot market pricing, which remains in the approximate range of $45.00-$46.00 cwt. ($992-$1,014/mt or $900-$920/nt), ex-Midwest mill, is equally flexible.