Domestic steel prices are expected to rise in the near future, thanks to increasing construction demand, the real estate market’s recovery and high consumption, Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) said.

Nguyen Van Sua, VSA’s Vice Chairman, said the selling price of steel billets and bars has risen since July.

The prices of steel soar in the market under growing construction demand. (Photo: satthepxaydung.net)

Specifically, steel billet prices increased from USD 300-310 per ton in July to USD 315-325 per ton at the beginning of this month. The prices of steel bars also increased from USD 308-315 per ton to USD 330-338 per ton.

The prices of building steel, excluding VAT, delivered at factories have remained stable over the past two months at VND 9.4 million-9.9 million per ton in the north and VND 9.4 million-9.7 million per ton in the south.

Sua said steel prices could rise further as the prices of steel billets have been rising, while the property market was expected to develop in the last few months of the year.

In addition, reports from VSA showed that the steel output of its members last month reached 1.4 million tons, posting a 13.6 percent year-on-year increase.

Steel sales in July reached more than 1.2 million tons, increasing 27.3 percent year-on-year, and 20 percent higher from the previous month.

The exports of steel products in July also posted a 57 percent year-on-year rise to reach 246,500 tons.

Sua said the surge in both steel production and consumption showed that domestic steel producers could meet the demand for building steel.

However, he said steel businesses should further improve their products’ quality and reduce production costs to offer more competitive prices.

Source: VNA