Steel prices drop for 10th straight month in May
Although the demand for building steel rose by more than 26% in May compared to the previous month, steel prices decreased for the 10th month, and steelmakers expected the struggle to continue.
A monthly report from the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) showed that construction steel output increased by 14.18% over the previous month to 812,085 tonnes, but decreased by 27.3% year-on-year.
Sales of the products in May increased by 26.08% month-on-month to 927,618 tonnes but were unchanged compared to the same period last year.
Raw material prices tended to increase slightly at the end of May, with the rally extending to June. However, due to weak demand, steel producers had to gradually reduce their prices and implement subsidies.
In the domestic market, as of June 15, some steel manufacturers have lowered their prices by 100,000 VND to 270,000 VND per tonne for CB240 steel coils, down to about 13.94 million VND to 14.82 million VND per tonne. They kept the same price for the CB300 rebar as compared to the latest adjustment.
Data compiled by steelonline.vn showed that, during the period, Hoa Phat Group (HPG), the country's largest steel producer, quoted its CB240 steel coils in the northern market at 13.94-14.82 million VND per tonne, a decrease of 100,000 VND.
