In general, this week has seen a clearer sign of weakened demand in the market, partly due to the current month being still within the lunar month of January. The weak demand has led traders to limit their adjustments, even when mills increase prices, such as in the case of steel pipe and sheet prices. Currently, the market believes that demand for steel products may increase in the lunar month of February. Additionally, the Chinese market has shown rapid recovery this week, indicating that there may be more fluctuations in the market next week.

Import scrap market:

This week, the prices of import scrap in Vietnam have undergone complex fluctuations. While the prices from Japan have shown a slight upward trend, the prices from South Korea and the United States have remained relatively stable. However, the supply is limited as Vietnamese buyers are still cautious in the market.

Domestic scrap market:

In general, scrap prices have remained stable this week due to mild adjustments by mills and the presence of both supporting factors for price increases and decreases. At the beginning of the week, some mills in the North and Central regions raised scrap prices by an additional 200 VND/kg. Towards the end of the week, there were signs of a slight decrease in prices by 100-200 VND/kg at some small mills and scrapyards.

Export billet market:

Vietnamese sellers have hardly released any new billet price offers this week. Meanwhile, thanks to the price increase from China, the billet prices of many other markets have slightly rebounded but still remain lower than Vietnam's offer of 625 USD/ton FOB.

Domestic billet market:

Billet prices have remained stable this week as suppliers tend to maintain their prices to observe the market. However, the weak demand continues to put pressure on prices, and towards the end of the week, there were several billet offers with price decreases in the market.

Import HRC market:

The Chinese market has shown a rapid recovery, and the HRC prices from China to Vietnam have also increased during the week, fluctuating around 635-645 USD/ton CFR. The prices of other markets may also increase in the coming week.

Domestic HRC market:

The highlight of this week is the significant price increase of HRC for February 2023 by Formosa, although the weak purchasing power has resulted in most traders not making any adjustments this week. However, the price increase by Formosa has further strengthened the optimism of traders.

Export construction steel market:

The steel prices for construction from Vietnam have seen a notable increase this week, reaching the threshold of 700 USD/ton FOB after the gradual recovery of the Chinese market. This price level is considered too high and makes it difficult for Vietnam to achieve successful transactions.

Domestic construction steel market:

Except for Vina Kyoei's price increase, the domestic construction steel market has seen almost no additional adjustments from both mills and traders this week. However, there have been signs of weaker consumption, and some factories have offered discounts of 200 VND/kg for steel used in projects.

Pipe and box steel market:

This week, many large mills such as Hoa Sen, Hoa Phat, and Sendo have continued to increase the prices of steel pipes and boxes by 200-300 VND/kg, with TVP experiencing a stronger increase of 500 VND/kg. However, due to weak purchasing power, the prices offered by traders have only increased by a slight 0.7% compared to the previous week.

Corrugated iron market:

Many large mills have significantly raised the prices of sheet steel by 400-800 VND/kg this week, with some smaller increases of 200-300 VND/kg. Furthermore, these mills have announced further price increases of 200-500 VND/kg for the upcoming week. In contrast to the mills, traders have made slight and slower adjustments, with price increases of only 100-200 VND/kg due to weak market demand.