Continuous week-on-week increases in the US' oil rig count and high oil prices are keeping oil country tubular goods (OCTG) buying activity strong. However, supply concerns are still prevalent; there is no shortage of domestic J55 electric resistance welded (ERW) OCTG casing availability, but because most of the pipe is tied to specific projects, spot availability has been tighter in recent weeks. Any possible shortage, however, is quickly alleviated by heavy import availability from current futures offers or traders' position tons being sold on a spot basis. With activity strong, US domestic spot prices are still $66.00-$67.00 cwt. ($1,455-$1,477/mt or $1,320-$1,340/nt) ex-Midwest mill, unchanged over the past couple weeks and likely to remain stable in the immediate future.
Import demand is also strong, but similar to the US domestic market, competition is keeping prices level compared to last week. Most import J55 ERW OCTG casing buying activity in the US is taking place with Korean mills at $49.50-$51.50 cwt. ($1,091-$1,135/mt or $990-$1,030/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports. Taiwanese and Turkish prices are as much as $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) lower than Korea's, and Vietnamese offer prices are between $49.00-$51.00 cwt. ($1,080-$1,124/mt or $980-$1,020/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports.