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US pipe market optimistic despite rumored price drop
February 22, 2012 - 02:33 GMT
Location:
Toronto
KEYWORDS:
HSS
,
OCTG
,
line pipe
,
scrap
,
coil rig count
,
oil
,
natural gas
,
shale
,
steel tube
Steel pipe and tube tags appear to be relatively stable heading into March despite a reported drop in prices on hollow structural sections (HSS) by at least one major producer.
Respondents were about evenly split as to whether prices would hold steady or move upward in coming weeks and months, while some two-thirds characterized the current steel tube and pipe markets as "good"—an increase over the 40 percent who said so last month (AMM, Jan. 25).
"Order books are good through (the) second quarter. Prices are stable to moving up," said one mill source.
Oil prices, the rig count and pipeline construction all signal positive fundamental demand on the energy tubulars front, he added. "The only down(side) is natural gas. But as rigs move to the oil, the market will adjust," he said.
The U.S. rotary rig count stood at 1,994 rigs for the week ended Feb. 17, up five rigs from the prior week and up 281 rigs from the year-ago period, according to...
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Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC.
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