Last week, a Bulgarian steel producer’s offers for ERW pipes as per EN 10219 increased by €10/mt on average to €600-640/mt ($702-749/mt) CPT and this price range has gained acceptance in the European market following the European Commission’s (EC) decision of provisional quotas and duties for steel imports. This week, the Bulgarian welded pipe producer’s quotations have remained stable for the product in question to Hungary and Poland are at €610-620/mt ($714-725/mt) CPT, with other offers to the Czech Republic and Austria being at €620-630/mt ($702-737/mt) CPT, while its offers to Germany and Romania are at €630-640/mt ($737-749/mt) CPT and €600-610/mt ($702-714/mt) CPT respectively. Market sources state that no significant change has been observed in terms of welded pipe demand in the European market and trading activity is still at normal levels. Meanwhile, the producer in question is open to raising its prices further in the short term, as its previous price revision easily gained acceptance.
Since the EU's 296,274 mt quotas for welded pipe imports are spread across all countries in the region, market players are confused about how it will be possible to track the unused quota tonnages and to determine if the quota has been exceeded or not. Market sources state that some buyers have already concluded high tonnage welded pipe deals for September delivery and that the quota will be exceeded before 200 days. Considering that import welded pipe bookings for deliveries after September are risky in terms of exceeding the quotas, buyers will likely to seek to conclude purchases as soon as possible.