US energy tube pricing remains subdued

US oil country tubular goods pricing remained flat over the Christmas holiday, Kallanish learns from market sources. 

Kallanish held its representative price for P110 domestic welded casing at $1,050-1,100/short ton, a level it has occupied for several weeks. 

A buy-side source on the Gulf Coast reports that the price increases announced over the past month due to rising skelp prices have not yet filtered down to the market-at-large. 

Moreover, he says, they are unlikely to do so until drilling programmes become definite early next year. 

The US rig count remains well below last year’s equivalent count, while the Canadian count is just 29 rigs above its 2018 total. Market observers at major investment banks have predicted that the US rig count - currently standing at 805 - will average below 800 over the course of 2020.