For the most part, buyers and sellers of
US domestic and import oil country
tubular goods (OCTG) casing are out of the office this week, and many will be out of the office on holiday-vacations until after the first of the year. “Things are really quiet right now,” according to SteelOrbis sources, although the widespread belief is that falling oil prices will lead to price corrections within the energy pipe markets; those revisions, however, are not expected to materialize until January. Trader sources say they are already expecting new offer prices from offshore producers, and it’s believed that domestic spot market prices could start to slide in unison.
For now, everything remains lateral.
US domestic spot prices for finished J55 ERW OCTG casing has held at approximately $59.00-$61.00 cwt. ($1,300-$1344/mt or $1,180-$1,220/nt) ex-Midwest mill, while futures offer prices from Korean producers for unfinished J55 ERW OCTG casing have also trended sideways, at $49.00-$50.00 cwt. ($49.00-$50.00 cwt. ($1,080-$1,102/mt or $980-$1,000/nt) DDP loaded truck in
US Gulf coast ports. Taiwanese offers are also steady since our last report a week ago and remain in the approximate range of $46.00-$47.00 cwt. ($1,014-$1,036/mt or $920-$940/nt) DDP loaded truck in
US Gulf coast ports.