Activity in the Bulgarian welded pipe market is still quiet, while producers have kept their prices almost unchanged over the past two weeks. Buying activity in the domestic market is recovering slowly due to low consumption in the country amid insufficient financing of new infrastructure projects. Meanwhile, customers from Germany and Poland are showing moderate interest in Bulgarian welded pipes. As a result, export prices of welded pipes from Bulgarian producers have risen by a maximum of €10/mt ($13/mt) over the past two weeks, while domestic prices have not been revised. Market players expect quotations of welded pipes from Bulgarian producers will likely remain stable in the coming period as demand is not expected to improve significantly.
Current offers of locally produced welded pipes and hollow sections of 2-5 mm wall thickness made from S235JR grade hot rolled coil (HRC) according to EN 10219 are being given to the Bulgarian domestic market at around BGN 980-1,000/mt ($649-662/mt) ex-works, exclusive of 20 percent VAT and on theoretical weight basis.
Export quotations of Bulgarian ERW pipes and hollow sections of 2-5 mm wall thickness made from S235JR grade HRC as per EN 10219 are at levels of €470-520/mt ($609-673/mt) ex-works on theoretical weight basis. In particular, export offers of Bulgarian pipes to Germany are at levels of €470-480/mt ($609-621/mt) ex-works, while offers to Poland are at €490-520/mt ($634-673/mt) ex-works. Export quotations of Bulgarian water and gas pipes according to EN 10255 are at €490-540/mt ($634-699/mt) ex-works.
$1 = BGN 1.51
€1 = $1.29