US oil prices continued to flutter near $51 per barrel on Tuesday, and low oil prices and continued volatility within the market continues to hamper exploration and drilling projects. Many economists believe that prices will need to recover to about $55 per barrel before drilling projects will start to resume; as it stands, the number of
US rigs drilling for oil has fallen by 30 percent since November. The slowdown in drilling continues to plague order activity and inquiries with domestic energy pipe markets, and while prices have remained relatively neutral since our last report a week ago, sources close to SteelOrbis continue to report that “everything is flexible.”
Prices for unfinished J55 ERW OCTG casing from Korean producers have held sideways in the past week, with the most common transaction range holding at $47.50-$49.00 cwt. ($1,047-$1,080/mt or $950-$980/nt); prices for finished J55 ERW OCTG casing are fluttering near $54.00 cwt. ($1,191/mt or $1,080/nt), both DDP loaded truck in
US Gulf coast ports. Taiwanese offer prices for unfinished J55 ERW OCTG casing have also remained sideways at $44.00-$45.00 cwt. ($970-$992/mt or $880-$900/nt) DDP loaded truck in
US Gulf coast ports. In terms of the
US domestic market, spot prices for finished J55 ERW OCTG casing are also steady week-on-week, with finished J55 ERW OCTG casing holding at approximately $59.00-$61.00 cwt. ($1,300-$1344/mt or $1,180-$1,220/nt) ex-Midwest mill.