The total amount of construction steel sold in October reached more than 1.25 million tons, up nearly 44% over the same period last year and reaching the highest level in nearly 3 years.

Data from the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) shows that finished steel products consumed nearly 2.74 million tons last month, 9.4% higher than September and up 22.5% over the same period last year. last. Growth comes from construction steel, steel pipes, metal-coated corrugated iron and SPM. The improvement mainly comes from the domestic market while exports are still going backwards.

Of which, construction steel recorded more than 1.25 million tons sold, an increase of nearly 34% and 44% respectively compared to the previous month and the same period in 2023. This is the highest consumption level since March 2022. Sales are exceeding 185,000 tons more than the total amount of construction steel produced in the month.

Accumulated in the first 10 months of the year, the market has consumed more than 9.96 million tons of construction steel, about 11% higher than the same period in 2023. This shows that purchasing power has partly recovered.

Consumption improved even though in October, construction steel had 5 consecutive price increases. For example, Hoa Phat’s CB240 steel coil price is currently 13.94 million VND per ton, an increase of 510,000 VND after 5 adjustments. As for D10 CB300 rebar steel, the selling price is about 14.14 million VND per ton, an increase of 740,000 VND compared to mid-September.

The price increase is also applied by other brands such as Viet Y, Viet Duc, Viet Sing, Kyoei Vietnam, VJS… Thus, construction steel prices are about the same as mid-June, before the sharp price drop that followed.

A recent report from VPBank Securities (VPBankS) said that the consumption volume of most types of steel in the domestic market grew mainly thanks to demand from both the construction and industrial sectors maintaining a positive state. pole. This analysis group believes that construction steel prices have bottomed out thanks to low inventory levels, expectations of a slow recovery in the real estate market and demand for steel consumption for the industrial and infrastructure sectors to maintain growth.

In addition, the domestic steel industry is also benefiting from enhanced protection measures to help reduce competitive pressure. At the end of October, the Ministry of Industry and Trade extended for another 5 years the application of anti-dumping measures by imposing tariffs on color-coated steel and color-coated steel from China and Korea.

In the opinion of MB Securities (MBS), domestic steel prices may recover due to reduced pressure from China and improved demand. Since the fourth quarter, MBS expects domestic construction steel prices to increase by 5% compared to the bottom in August to reach an average of 571 USD per ton (nearly 14.2 million VND). By 2025, construction steel may increase by 7% thanks to demand growth and reduced pressure from China.

However, before that, VSA repeatedly noted that domestic steel demand was still low, not as expected during the construction season. In addition, competition to protect market share among factories, including imported goods, makes the market more difficult.

Source: VNEXPRESS

02/12/2024