The US domestic OCTG market is expected to resume to normal now that the year-end holidays have come to a close.
Market players are finally returning to work this week, but for now, conditions are stable.
The most recently heard ex-mill pricing for domestic J55 ERW OCTG casing is still trending at $60.00-$62.50 cwt. ($1,322-$1,378/mt or $1,200-$1,250/nt), although as of late-December, mills had been increasingly willing to offer deals based on volume.
Of concern, sources note, is the current volatility in oil prices; US news outlets have reported that oil prices may have risen slightly in the past two days, but prices still ended the 2018 calendar year down by 25 percent. Earlier today, in a press conference, President Donald Trump said that he is responsible for falling oil prices, stating he felt that gas prices in the US were becoming “too high,” adding that he “called up some people and told them to let the oil flow.”
As far as crude oil inventories, it has also been reported that US oil inventories have been tallied at a level that’s above the five-year pricing average, which also has market players keeping close tabs on that market.
“If the economy slows down, this could lessen the demand for oil, which would, of course, have a negative impact on energy pipe demand,” a source said.