Steel prices have suddenly dropped by VND200,000 or VND500,000 per ton after increasing many times since early this year. The Vietnam Steel Association is predicted that steel prices will continue seeing fluctuations as the steel consumption market is going down. In southern Binh Duong province, a staff of Thang Loi Steel Enterprises said that the prices of various steel products saw considerable decrease last week.
Nguyen Tien Nghi, vice-chairman of the Vietnam Steel Association said that after two months on sharp increase, steel prices have begun slashing. Some steel companies in the southern region have also decided to decrease the prices of various steel products by VND200,000 or VND400,000 per ton. It is known that steel mills are selling products at between VND15.5mln or 16.4mln per ton (not including VAT).
Also according to Mr.Nghi, the ingot steel prices in the world market have been at standstill, due to the fluctuations of North Africa. Moreover, governments in some Southeast Asia countries have adopted policies to limit inflation.
Changes in domestic market have prompted prices to drop, he said, adding that many investors have cut investments in construction in response to Government policies (including the Resolution 11) to minimize inflation so demand has decreased since March.
Steel companies have had to reduce prices to increase market demand, Nghi said. He also predicts that the price will continue to fall in the following months as the Resolution 11 has proved effective. However, he affirms that the decrease will not be significant.
According to the Vietnam Steel Association, Viet Nam consumed more than 900,000 tons of steel in the first two months of the year. Total sales in March were estimated at only 400,000 tons, a month-on-month decrease of 75,000 tons.
Reported by Binh Duong Daily-Translated by K.T
