The welded pipe market in Bulgaria remains quiet as business activity has slowed down with the start of the summer holiday period. Bulgarian welded pipe producers have not revised their domestic prices over the past three weeks, while export quotations have softened by a maximum of €10/mt ($10/mt) during this period. Market insiders deem that it is difficult for the market to see any improvement in the short term due to seasonally slack demand and dull market sentiment.
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 ($680-694/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 €490-530/mt ($666-721/mt) ex-works on theoretical weight basis for July production. In particular, export offers of Bulgarian pipes to Germany are at levels of €490-500/mt ($666-680/mt) ex-works, while offers to Poland are at €510-530/mt ($694-721/mt) ex-works. Export quotations of Bulgarian water and gas pipes according to EN 10255 are at €520-550/mt ($707-748/mt) ex-works.
$1 = BGN 1.44
€1 = $1.36