HCMC – Escalating input costs have pushed steel prices up VND150,000 to as high as VND17.6 million per ton despite a slump in demand.
Local steelmaker Hoa Phat Group hiked the price of rebar CB300 D10 to nearly VND16 million a ton on March 21. Similarly, each ton of rebar at steelmakers such as Viet Y, Viet Duc, Kyoei and Viet My increased by VND100,000.
The price of rolled steel CB240 at Thai Nguyen steelmaker was revised up VND100,000, at VND15.86 million per ton.
Steelmaker Pomina now sells rebar CB300 D10 for VND17.6 million a ton and rolled steel CB240 for VND17.57 million.
The year has seen six rounds of price revision since January, leaving steel prices as high as last August.
Local steel manufacturers attributed the price hikes to higher input prices due to fewer supplies caused by some steel mills limiting steel billet production last year.
On March 7, hard coking coal was priced at US$331 per ton on a free-on-board basis at Australian ports, up US$6 per ton compared to early February, while steel scrap prices inched up US$13 to US$448 per ton.
On the same day, hot rolled coils were traded at US$643 per ton on a cost and freight basis, an increase of US$24 compared to the beginning of February.
Data from the Vietnam Steel Association showed that the output of finished steel products in January and February fell 16% year-on-year to nearly 4.3 million tons, while sales were down 23.2% over the same period in 2022 to 3.8 million tons.
Mirae Asset Securities projected that the demand for steel would remain weak in the coming months due to the dormant real estate market.
It also estimated domestic steel consumption in 2023 would drop 10.5% over 2022, at 17.9 million tons.
