Demand for welded pipes remains sluggish in Poland against a background of slow consumer activity. Domestic prices for locally produced welded pipes have moved down in Poland by €20-30/mt ($26-39/mt) over the past month amid low buying interest. Import offers of Bulgarian welded pipes have mostly stayed unchanged, while offers of Italian origin material have gone down by €10-30/mt ($13-39/mt) over the period under review. However, business activity shows no signs of improvement in Poland, and buyers hope to convince suppliers to make further price cuts.
Meanwhile, welded pipe suppliers are unlikely to decrease their offers significantly in the short term, amid expectations of the traditional upturn in the construction segment with the arrival of spring.
Current domestic quotations of locally produced 3/8"-6" water and gas ERW pipes of 2.6-4.5 mm wall thickness made to EN 10255 are at €670-700/mt ($871-910/mt) delivered, exclusive of 23 percent VAT. Offers of square and rectangular hollow sections with 2-4 mm wall thickness made from S235 JRH grade hot rolled coil (HRC) according to EN 10219 are in the range of €580-600/mt ($754-780/mt) ex-works.
Quotations of Italian black welded pipes of 2"-6" size with wall thickness of 2.0-4.0 mm as per EN 10219 made from S235JR grade HRC to the Polish market are at the level of €600-650/mt ($780-845/mt) CPT on actual weight basis.
Offers of Bulgarian ERW pipes and hollow sections of 2-5 mm wall thickness made from S235JR grade HRC as per EN 10219 to Polish customers are standing at an average of €550-600/mt ($715-780/mt) CPT on theoretical weight basis.
€1 = $1.30