Over the past week, the Vietnamese steel market has witnessed several significant developments, bringing positive signals and expectations of price increases in the near future. Let's take a look at the key highlights in this market.

Imported Scrap Market: The imported scrap market has become more active after the conclusion of the Kanto bidding with increased prices. The prices of Japanese scrap metal imported to Vietnam have risen as a result. Additionally, the United States has returned to bidding for scrap metal exports to Vietnam this week. While the imported scrap market is more dynamic, successful transactions are still limited.

 Domestic Scrap Market: The domestic scrap market experienced fluctuations at the beginning of the week, with prices rising in the North and falling in the South. However, by the end of the week, scrap metal prices had increased due to several major plants raising their prices, putting upward pressure on traders.

 Export-Import Steel Billet Market: Vietnam's export prices for steel billets decreased slightly this week due to the impact of declining billet prices in Southeast Asia and China. Moreover, buyers are aiming for lower transaction prices, exerting pressure on Vietnam's export steel market.

 Domestic Steel Billet Market: The domestic steel billet market saw relatively stable prices this week, but the positive sentiment prevailed as scrap metal prices increased, and steel construction plants offered performance bonds.

 Imported HRC Market: The imported Hot Rolled Coils (HRC) market experienced a decline at the beginning of the week but rebounded towards the end, following the volatility in the futures market. However, the market sentiment remained weak, resulting in limited reports of successful transactions.

 Domestic HRC Market: The focal point of the domestic HRC market this week was the announcement of new prices by Formosa. Prices increased slightly when measured in Vietnamese Dong but decreased slightly when converted to USD. With the rising trend from the import market, there were expectations of price increases by the end of the week.

 Export of Construction Steel Market: Due to higher prices compared to the general market, Vietnamese sellers had to reduce their export prices for construction steel bars. Meanwhile, the prices for imported wire rods showed some fluctuations. However, the common thread was that the market recorded few transactions due to weak demand.

 Domestic Construction Steel Market: At the beginning of the week, Shengli announced an increase in prices for D10 and D12 construction steel bars, raising expectations for market improvement. These expectations grew towards the end of the week as some plants announced performance bond cuts for construction steel bars and civil coil steel, while scrap metal prices showed an upward trend.

 Steel Pipe and Box Market: Due to fluctuations in the HRC market and information from other product categories, the steel pipe and box market remained relatively stable this week. Some plants introduced new policies, but these adjustments were mostly indirect, and prices did not decrease significantly as before.

 In summary, the Vietnamese steel market has navigated a challenging lunar July, with more positive signals emerging this week. Rising scrap metal prices and steel construction plants cutting performance bonds may drive up billet and construction steel prices in the coming week. The steel pipe, box, and sheet markets are also expected to remain stable or even see slight price increases, especially in the case of HRC. Therefore, expectations of price hikes are once again returning to the market, with a higher likelihood of price increases compared to previous expectations.

Source: Giathepton