Over the past week, demand in the local European welded pipe market has failed to indicate any significant change as buyers have continued to book only small tonnages in order to meet their immediate needs. According to market sources, some welded pipe producers in Europe have created competition by reducing their prices in line with the fall recorded in quotations of hot rolled coil (HRC) - the raw material for welded pipe - observed in March in order to stimulate their sales for April. Market sources state that demand in the local European welded pipe market is negatively influenced by imports coming from Macedonia and Turkey despite the risk of antidumping duty. It is believed that demand in the local European welded pipe market may improve in the coming weeks with the announcement of decisions in the antidumping duty investigations for these two countries.
A Bulgarian steel producer’s offers for ERW pipes as per EN 10219 for its domestic market have remained stable week on week at €565-575/mt ($633-644/mt) ex-works after the fall recorded last week. The Bulgarian welded pipe producer’s European market quotations to Germany are still at €615-645/meter ($689-722/meter) CPT, to Hungary are at €595-605/meter ($666-678/meter) CPT, to Austria are at €605-615/meter ($678-689/meter) CPT, and to Belgium and the Netherlands are at €635-650/meter ($711-728/meter) CPT, while its offers to the Czech Republic, Poland, Croatia and Slovakia are standing at €605-625/mt ($678-700/mt) CPT, and its offers to Slovenia are at €605-615/mt ($784-689/mt) CPT.
€1 = $1.12