Oil prices are slowly rising but the number of
US-based rigs that are drilling for oil remains leaps and bounds below where it was a year ago. This, compounded with the annual summer-slowdown that tends to hit in the weeks after the Memorial Day holiday isn’t exactly great news for those involved with buying and selling energy pipe. Some have started to question whether this new, sluggish activity is truly the new normal because they feel that anything that could possibly resemble “normal” would be a good sign.
Others feel this could be the quiet before an activity storm. They say that sooner or later, all these excess tons that are on the ground will inevitably get worked through, which could help spur activity in the latter half of the year. For now, though, prices have held stable and activity remains weak.
As with last week, spot market prices for finished, on the ground Korean J55 ERW OCTG casing is said to be available at approximately $42.00-$43.00 cwt. ($926-$948/mt or $840-$860/nt) and traders still cite a belief that they could book unfinished J55 ERW OCTG casing futures for less than $38.00 cwt. ($827/mt or $760/nt), DDP loaded truck in
US Gulf Coast ports, which continues to be far below previous offer prices of $44.50-$45.50 cwt. ($981-$1,003/mt or $890-$910/nt), DDP loaded truck in
US Gulf coast ports.
Domestic prices for finished J55 ERW OCTG casing are also steady week-on-week, at approximately $49.00-$50.00 cwt. ($1,080-$1,102/mt or $980-$1,000/nt), ex-Midwest mill.