Demand in the Bulgarian domestic welded pipe market has remained consistently low, while domestic quotations have shown no change from their levels of two weeks ago. Bulgarian welded pipe producers prefer to focus on exports to other European countries; however, export quotations of Bulgarian ERW pipes have declined by €10/mt ($13/mt) over the past two weeks amid sluggish demand and uncertainty among buyers. In the coming weeks, no one expects to see an improvement in demand, and so prices will likely remain stable or even decrease a little.
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 €530-550/mt ($693-719/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 €490-500/mt ($640-654/mt) ex-works on theoretical weight basis for June production, and at €510-520/mt ($667-680/mt) ex-works for lots less than 1,000 mt. Export offers of similar Bulgarian pipes with wall thickness of 1.5 mm made from HRC as per EN 10219 are at around €520-550/mt ($680-719/mt) ex-works. Export quotations of Bulgarian water and gas pipes according to EN 10255 are at €510-540/mt ($667-706/mt) ex-works.
€1 = $1.307