Steel consumption in August may be lower than July

Ministry of Finance’s Vietnam Industry and Information Centre (VITIC) said that till the second week of August (9-13 August), there have been no move from steel producers indicating that steel prices may increase further after being pushed up three times in July.

Price of rolled steel at factory is still ranging at 14.26 to 14.32 million dong per tonne, whereas steel bar is at about 14.54 million dong per tonne (including VAT). Construction steel price in retail market is hovering between 12.5 to 12.9 million dong per tonne (excluding VAT).

According to Vietnam Steel Association (VSA), due to effects of rains and storms, steel consumption in August might reduce further, moderately ranging from 350,000 to 400,000 tonnes, the selling price thus is likely to remain stable. The country’s total amount of steel consumption in July reached 460,000 tonnes.

Since having to compete with foreign companies, domestic firms are unable to raise prices arbitrarily. However, prices may go up in September, according to VSA.

Previously, Ministry of Industry and Commerce also forecasts that in the near future, the global steel prices would go up, since India has raised export tax by 20 percent, in order to restrict the use of resources in the country. Due to the unpredictable changes in the market, currently, iron ores purchasing contracts are only signed by month or by week. – VSA

Tags: Vietnam Steel consumption, Vietnam steel industry, Vietnam steel market

Posted by VBN on Aug 18 2010. Filed under Steel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry