Domestic steel prices continue rising VND400,000/ton on Feb 18

Vietnam Steel Corporation (VNSteel) will raise the wholesale prices of steel by VND400,000/ton to VND17.7 million/ton

Vietnam Steel Corporation (VNSteel) will raise the wholesale prices of steel by VND400,000/ton to VND17.7 million/ton, the online newspaper Saigontimes reported on February 15, citing Do Duy Thai, General Director of VNSteel.

In the market, retail prices of steel topped VND18 million/ton, increasing VND500,000/ton compared with before Tet holidays.

The prices of imported steel billet rose to $700/ton and the recent devaluation of domestic currency will pressure upward on the prices of steel, Thai said.

The steel sector has to face with many difficulties in 2011 including low-price steel imported from China and ASEAN countries, shortage of electricity. Especially, the domestic firms will have to deal with problem of higher domestic dollar prices as Vietnam’s central bank devalued the dong by 9.3% on February 11, dropping the official reference rate to 20,693 dong per dollar from 18,932, VSA said.

The steel consumption is estimated to reach 340,000 tons in the first month of this year, VSA also said – Stoxplus.com

Tags: Vietnam steel industry, Vietnam steel market, Vietnam steel prices