Trader sources have confirmed that pricing for Taiwanese J55 ERW OCTG casing within the US domestic market continues to trend at $41.00-$42.50 cwt. ($904-$937/mt or $820-$850/nt), DDP loaded truck in US Gulf coast ports.
Overall market activity, however, has started to slow, which is typical during the last months of the year.
Market players are reportedly awaiting tomorrow’s announcement from the American Petroleum Institute (API) with regard to the US weekly petroleum inventory data. At current, it is believed that for the week ending Oct. 13, US crude inventories declined by approximately 4.8 million barrels.
It’s also been announced that Bank of America Merrill Lynch has raised its oil price forecasts; now, the bank expects that during Q4, Brent crude will average at $54. Previously, it was believed that Q4 Brent crude prices would average at $50.