The recent upward movement in Bulgaria’s longs market has lost momentum this week, with prices remaining broadly unchanged from last week and the market showing little support for another increase. Billet availability remains tight and demand has shown a slight improvement compared with the particularly weak conditions seen earlier, but neither has been strong enough to trigger a new round of price increases. Overall purchasing activity remains slow, while buyers continue to resist higher quotations and generally limit their orders to current requirements. Some suppliers have nevertheless attempted to test higher levels, but these efforts have so far gained little acceptance, leaving the market largely unchanged from last week.
Domestic rebar prices are heard broadly unchanged at around €630-650/mt CPT, while wire rod quotations remain at approximately €670-680/mt CPT. Rebar levels of around €660/mt CPT are reported to have been tested in some cases, but market participants say such prices are difficult to achieve under current market conditions.
Import activity has remained very limited, with almost no fresh purchases reported as weak buying activity in the domestic market continues to weigh on interest in imported material. Turkish rebar offers are currently heard at around $620-635/mt FOB, corresponding to approximately €570-580/mt CFR Bulgaria with freight estimated at $25/mt, compared with around €550-565/mt CFR last week. Egyptian rebar is offered at approximately $610-615/mt FOB, equivalent to around €560-570/mt CFR with freight of about $30/mt, versus roughly €540-550/mt CFR previously. Egyptian wire rod offers are, meanwhile, heard at around $625-630/mt FOB, translating to approximately €575-580/mt CFR Bulgaria, compared with around €560-575/mt CFR a week earlier.
