Bulgarian welded pipe producers have continued to face rising costs of production, while demand for their products has not yet recovered. Over the past two weeks, export and domestic prices of Bulgarian welded pipes have gone up by €5-10/mt ($7-14/mt). However, customers find it hard to accept the new prices and so the transaction volume is still low. Under current market conditions when demand is still not so strong, Bulgarian pipe producers are very cautious on the issue of increasing their prices. Meanwhile, offers of flat steel in the Bulgarian market are rising rapidly, and thus welded pipe makers will likely be forced to lift their prices again 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 €590-600/mt ($802-815/mt) ex-works, exclusive of 20 percent VAT and on theoretical weight basis. Offers of similar pipes with wall thickness of 1.5 mm made from HRC as per EN 10219 are at €640-650/mt ($870-883/mt) ex-works. Bulgarian domestic quotations of water and gas ERW pipes made to EN 10255 are at €610-620/mt ($829-843/mt) ex-works.
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 €610-620/mt ($829-843/mt) ex-works on a theoretical weight basis for February-March production. Offers of similar Bulgarian pipes with wall thickness of 1.5 mm made from HRC as per EN10219 are at around €670/mt ($911/mt) ex-works. ERW pipes with 1.2-1.4 mm wall thickness made from cold rolled (CR) steel are priced in the foreign markets at about €730-740/mt (992-1,006$/mt) ex-works. Export quotations of Bulgarian water and gas pipes according to EN 10255 are at €630-640/mt ($856-870/mt) ex-works. ERW galvanized pipes with 2-3 mm wall thickness made to DIN 2440/2444 are quoted in the foreign markets at on average €820-830/mt (1,115-1,128$/mt) ex-works.
€1 = $1.359