Last week SteelOrbis reported that futures prices for unfinished J55 electric resistance weld (ERW) oil country tubular goods (OCTG) casing from Korea and the Philippines had fallen by approximately $3.50 cwt. ($77/mt or $70/nt) and are now available in the approximate range of $35.50-$36.50 cwt. ($783-$805/mt or $710-$730/nt), DDP loaded truck US Gulf Coast ports, but the price drop has done little to spur interest.
“It’s setting up to be an uninteresting rest of the year,” according to one source close to SteelOrbis. Oil prices continue to be weak and other sources say that at this point the market doesn’t seem to be heading for a turnaround anytime soon. “I just don’t see any major shake ups in the market anytime soon,” another sources said. US spot prices for finished J55 ERW OCTG casing continues to trend at approximately $49.00-$50.00 cwt. ($1,080-$1,102/mt or $980-$1,000/nt), ex-Midwest mill, but sources say they believe that all pricing is open to negotiation based on tonnage.