Local Bulgarian rebar demand is limited as most buyers are on hold for new purchases. Some sources report that current rebar stocks in Bulgaria are at medium levels and that long product demand has become weaker since the middle of last week. Local longs prices have decreased by around BGN 20/mt (€10/mt) over the past week.
Currently, domestic rebar prices in Bulgaria are at BGN 905-930/mt (€463-475/mt) CPT. This price range is valid for both Stomana Industries and Promet for rebar sales from mills’ stocks.
According to sources, due to the impact of the coronavirus, Bulgarian buyers are staying away from ex-Italy purchases, which is one of the key longs suppliers to Bulgaria. “We're receiving letters from Italian suppliers stating that their operations are continuing, with safety precautions being taken”, a source told SteelOrbis. However, some of the Bulgarian buyers have been trying to find other supply sources apart from Italy.
It is worth mentioning that Turkish mills, according to sources, will ship around 30,000 mt of rebar and around 10,000 wire rod to Bulgaria by May and the material will be most probably waiting at ports until the new round of EU quotas is issued (early July). In addition, some other Balkan countries will be receiving up to 40,000 mt of Turkish rebar by early April, most probably destined to cover the “others’ quota”, SteelOrbis understands.
In addition, Bulgaria’s domestic wire rod prices are set within BGN 950-960 (€486-491/mt) CPT, while the price range for merchant bars is at BGN 960-980 (€491-501/mt) CPT, with beams being priced somewhat higher at BGN 1,050-1,150 CPT (€537-588/mt) CPT depending on the size.
€1 = BGN 1.955