The overall temperament of the US domestic energy pipe industry is still trending tepid; sources close to SteelOrbis say that while there have been some modest upticks in activity, overall market sentiment is bland.
“We’re already creeping toward the year’s end and since no one does much of anything in November or December, there’s maybe 30 days left in the year,” one source said. “No one is trying to take on inventory positions and we’re all just moving through the mud, day by day.”
Pricing for US import OCTG casing from Korean steelmakers is unchanged since our last report a week ago, at $27.50-$29.50 cwt. ($606-$650/mt or $550-$590/nt), DDP loaded truck in US Gulf Coast ports. On-the-ground inventory, however, is “being offered at an increasingly aggressive price, which we only expect will become more aggressive as we dive into the last months of the year.”