Bulgaria’s longs market has not seen any clear price direction in the current week, as only limited changes in quotations are accompanied by noticeably different demand conditions across the market.
Larger producers report that sales are still taking place at reasonable levels, with business neither particularly strong nor weak and some tonnages continuing to move at current prices. The situation appears softer among medium-sized suppliers, however, with several market participants saying that demand has been weakening gradually and is now showing little improvement compared with the subdued conditions seen in August. Against this uneven demand backdrop, sellers have had little room to adjust prices significantly, and current quotations remain close to last week’s levels despite some differences at the lower ends of the prevailing ranges. Attempts to move the market higher would therefore appear difficult to sustain for the time being, particularly while purchasing activity remains inconsistent across different segments of the market.
Domestic rebar prices are currently heard at around €635-650/mt CPT, compared with €630-650/mt CPT last week. Wire rod quotations are reported at approximately €665-680/mt CPT, versus €670-680/mt CPT a week earlier.
Import activity has remained particularly quiet this week, as sufficient stocks and adequate supply from domestic producers have reduced buyers’ need to seek additional tonnages from abroad. At the same time, no particularly aggressive offers are being heard from European or overseas suppliers, leaving both fresh bookings and firm import quotations scarce. From Greece, indicative rebar offers are heard at around €640-650/mt FOB, which would correspond to approximately €655-670/mt delivered to Bulgaria based on transportation costs of around €15-20/mt. Greek wire rod is meanwhile indicated at around €660-670/mt FOB, or approximately €675-690/mt delivered on the same basis. No notable new developments or fresh quotations have been heard from Italian suppliers this week. Egyptian rebar offers are currently reported at around $610-620/mt FOB. With freight estimated at approximately $30/mt, this would translate to around €565-575/mt CFR Bulgaria, compared with roughly €540-550/mt CFR last week. Egyptian wire rod is heard at around $620-630/mt FOB, equivalent to approximately €575-585/mt CFR Bulgaria including similar freight costs, versus around €560-575/mt CFR a week earlier. Turkish rebar offers are meanwhile indicated at around $615-630/mt FOB. Adding freight of approximately $25/mt, the resulting level would be around €565-580/mt CFR Bulgaria, broadly comparable with the €570-580/mt CFR range reported last week.
Author: SteelOrbis Editorial Team
