US steel oil country tubular goods prices slipped in August, though demand in the market remains good, according to market sources.
"We're still seeing strong demand, however it's flat," a US-based trader said.
The US rig count fell by 15 throughout the month of August, according to energy services firm Baker Hughes, however the fall has not been enough to have a significant impact on demand month on month, a service center source said.
OCTG pricing has fallen off from the previous highs in recent months, as supply caught up with demand, sources said.
"The mills are really trying to hold the line in the low four-digits," a trader said, though he said some transactions were under $1,000/st.
S&P Global Platts lowered its monthly assessment for US domestic J55 OCTG to $1,000-$1,050/st ex-works, down from $1,100-$1,150/st ex-works. The monthly imported J55 OCTG assessment was unchanged at $950-$1,000/st landed, duty paid.
Buyers were keeping an eye on the lingering effects of Hurricane Harvey this week and what they may mean for the OCTG import market going forward. The US imported 336,851 mt of OCTG in July, according to preliminary data from the Department of Commerce.
"There will be an impact, and there already has been because a lot of pipe comes in through Houston and there's also processing in that area," the trader said. "There's heat-treating and threading capacity which has been submerged."
TMK Ipsco closed its heat treatment and threading facility in Baytown, Texas, August 26 due to impassable roads, but reopened the facility Thursday with "no apparent damage to the facility," according to a statement issued by the company. No other sites among TMK Ipsco's 11 North American facilities were impacted by the storm and production and shipments are operating normally, the company said.
As a result of the storm, availability in the OCTG market was expected to be tight in the near term, which could lead to upward pressure on prices, the trader said.
