Two weeks ago, spot prices for
US domestic finished J55 ERW oil country
tubular goods (OCTG) casing fell a stark $5.00 cwt. ($110/mt or $100/nt); this week, the average transaction price has dropped another $5.00 cwt., bringing the current average range to $49.00-$50.00 cwt. ($1,080-$1,102/mt or $980-$1,000/nt), ex-Midwest mill. Yet sources close to SteelOrbis have said that market conditions are “so ugly that anyone looking to bring big tons to the table could easily get $1.50 cwt. ($33/mt or $30/nt) less than that.”
US domestic energy pipe markets continue to feel the brunt of falling rig counts, cheap oil and supply that is vastly outpacing demand. “There just isn’t a lot that any of
us can do but sit here and wait for this thing to turn itself around,” according to another SteelOrbis source. In the absence of stabilization within
US rig counts, and oil prices, the market will continue to trend volatile.
In terms of futures offers, Taiwanese offer prices for unfinished J55 ERW OCTG casing have held steady week-on-week, still at approximately $43.00-$44.00 cwt. ($948-$970/mt or $860-$880/nt), DDP loaded truck in
US Gulf coast ports; Korean futures offers for the same product, however, have also softened since our last report a week ago, with current ranges trending in the approximate range of $44.50-$45.50 cwt. ($981-$1,003/mt or $890-$910/nt), DDP loaded truck in
US Gulf coast ports.