Despite continued declines in US oil rig counts, oil production has remained steady and recent reports show that US oil inventories dropped by roughly $2.7 million barrels last week. This helped firm oil prices slightly, to $60.02 per barrel as of Thursday.
Still, drillers seem to have no problems doing more with less; none of which is good news for sellers of US domestic and import energy pipe.
"No one is buying anything," according to sources, who note the market continues to trend extremely quiet. US domestic prices continue to hold at approximately $45.00-$46.00 cwt. ($992-$1,014/mt or $900-$920/nt) ex-Midwest mill; meanwhile futures offers from Vietnamese and Taiwanese prices continue to hold at about $35.00-$36.00 cwt. ($772-$794/mt or $700-$720/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf coast ports, but as with previous weeks, none of that pricing is set in stone.