Bulgarian pipe companies continue to focus on foreign markets, while domestic buying remains weak amid sluggish demand from consuming industries. Despite rising raw material costs, Bulgarian welded pipe producers failed to fully implement their increase in prices for April output due to resistance from buyers. Domestic prices of locally produced welded pipes have decreased by BGN 50/mt (€25/mt) over the past two weeks, while export quotations of Bulgarian welded pipes have decreased by €20-30/mt. Nevertheless, for May output Bulgarian producers hope to compensate for rising production costs by raising their offers, as they expect purchase activity to increase in the coming period.
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 €585-590/mt (BGN 1,150/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 the level of €570-590/mt ex-works on theoretical weight basis for April production. Offers of similar Bulgarian pipes with wall thickness of 1.5 mm made from HRC as per EN 10219 are at around €600-620/mt ex-work for April rolling. Export quotations of Bulgarian water and gas pipes according to EN 10255 are at €590-610/mt ex-works.