Opposite to expectations from the previous week, the Vietnamese steel market is facing difficulties in increasing prices this week and even shows a tendency to decline. Some products such as billets, HRC, steel pipes, and light boxes are experiencing a slight decrease. While construction steel prices were not adjusted downwards this week, they decreased as soon as the market entered July. This, along with weak purchasing power, especially for finished steel products, has increased the pressure on the market in July 2023. There is a possibility that the market will see more adjustments from the manufacturers in the near future.

Import Scrap Market:

The price of scrap in South Korea has plummeted, affecting both the scrap market in Japan and Vietnam. Although buyers still show interest in the import market, it is not enough to push up the prices of imported scrap.

Domestic Scrap Market:

The market has seen a slight price increase from major plants such as Shengli, Tisco, and Danang Steel this week, reinforcing expectations of price increases in the coming week.

Import Steel Billet Market:

The export market recorded some transactions this week, while the import market had fewer transactions. However, with weak demand both domestically and internationally, the Vietnamese market for imported and exported steel billets is unlikely to improve in the short term.

Domestic Steel Billet Market:

Midweek, buyers started offering lower prices for billets, coupled with a slight improvement in supply, leading to a 0.81% decrease in billet prices after a slight increase the previous week.

Imported HRC Market:

The import prices of HRC in Vietnam this week fluctuated in line with the trends in the Chinese futures market, but overall showed an increasing trend. However, trading activities remained almost non-existent.

Domestic HRC Market:

Due to the decrease in futures prices at the beginning of the week, domestic HRC prices also decreased by approximately 0.9%. Subsequently, as futures prices increased again and traders awaited the price from Hoa Phat, the prices remained stable thereafter.

Export Construction Steel Market:

Buyers in Southeast Asia have shown signs of accepting slightly higher prices, creating conditions for increased exports from Vietnam. However, it is important to note that the fundamental demand remains weak.

Domestic Construction Steel Market:

At the end of June, steel plants temporarily halted price reductions for construction steel, but the market still lacks positive factors. Therefore, the plants continue to adjust down the prices of construction steel as soon as the new month begins.

Steel Pipe and Box Market:

Despite some price increases from certain plants in the past, the prices of steel pipes and boxes have decreased slightly this week, especially after Hoa Sen and Nam Kim reduced their prices.

Corrugated Iron Market:

The corrugated market has remained relatively stagnant this week, despite some plants announcing slight price reductions.

Source: giathepton