After the Lunar New Year holiday, the market has returned to normal, and prices have increased as expected. The overall market sentiment is positive, with many commodities experiencing strong price increases, especially fuels and scrap materials. However, trading in the market has not been too active, coupled with the volatile factors from the Chinese market, making the market more unpredictable. There are forecasts of more fluctuations in the coming week.

Imported scrap market:

The prices for H2 scrap and other types of scrap from various markets coming to Vietnam have increased by $15-25 per ton, depending on the type. The associated transactions are also expected to become more active soon.

Domestic scrap market:

The common price increase for scrap materials from various factories is around 400-600 VND/kg (Viet Nhat Steel increased by 600 VND/kg, Mien Nam Steel increased by 700 VND/kg, etc.), and the highest increase is up to 1,300 VND/kg for Shengli. Some mills have even increased prices twice, such as Hoa Phat, Tue Minh, Pomina 2, etc. The prices offered by scrap suppliers continue to rise to secure sufficient supply in the context of tightening supply.

Export billet market:

The post-holiday prices have significantly increased to $55-60 per ton. However, the Chinese market has been unstable this week, affecting the sentiment in many markets. Traders are currently uncertain about the prospects of billet price increases.

Domestic billet market:

This week, billet prices have increased significantly to 850-950 VND/kg, given the price increases of scrap materials and construction steel. However, the price of billets is approaching the price of construction steel, which makes traders cautious in their transactions.

Import HRC market:

The futures market has had unusual fluctuations, with an initial increase, followed by a decrease from the middle to the end of the week. The prices of HRC from China to Vietnam have followed a similar trend, and the amount of supply has decreased towards the end of the week. Therefore, there have been no price offers from India and Japan in this week.

Domestic HRC market:

HRC prices in the domestic market also increased slightly, but only at the beginning of the week. Towards the end of the week, prices remained stable as the futures prices from China continuously decreased. The highlight of this week is the significant price increase in Hoa Phat's HRC offers for January 2023, with an additional 1,220 VND/kg, demonstrating their determination to recover in 2023.

Construction steel market:

Hoa Phat and many other factories have increased the prices of reinforcing bars and coils by 300 VND/kg right after the Lunar New Year holiday. By the end of the week, many factories have announced further price increases for construction steel in the coming week. Market participants are waiting for the actions of other mills.

Steel pipe and box market:

Many steel pipe and box mills have increased prices by 200-300 VND/kg this week. However, traders' prices have not been adjusted clearly as they are prioritizing promotional policies and Lunar New Year gifts. Prices may become clearer in the following week after additional announcements.

Corrugated iron market:

In general, the prices of corrugated iron have increased this week. Hoa Sen increased by 200 VND/kg, and Viet Phap increased by up to 700 VND/kg. However, there are still some brands that have not made adjustments. This is mainly due to the application of promotional policies and Lunar New Year gifts. The corrugated iron market is expected to be active in terms of both prices and transactions in the next week.