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Demand for construction steel rises back
Steel consumption this month is increasing compared to the last two months thanks to the higher construction tempo.
According to Phan Vu Hung, Director of Sai Gon Thuong Tin Commodity Exchange (Sacom-STE), steel transactions at Sacom-STE are now 30,000 tons a day, a 40 percent increase compared to July. “This is a good sign,” Hung said, adding that increasing consumption plus decreasing steel imports were paving the way for higher sales.
The current price of construction steel at Sacom-STE remains at VND16.3 million a ton, which is VND700,000 cheaper than the world steel price, Hung said.
This price is expected to be stable and sales may increase by 15 percent per month from now to March next year, Hung said.
He said steel enterprises would soon get back on track.
Previously, the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) calculated the stockpiles of finished steel products at 400,000 tons and steel ingots at 520,000 tons at the end of August. This was a huge amount of steel in storage compared with the normal monthly stockpile level.
Several steel producers have decided to slash construction steel production by half amid the dreary market conditions of the past few months. However, Nguyen Tien Nghi, vice chairman of VSA, said steel sales were expected to reach 480,000 tons this month, which is 30,000 tons more than August.
Nghi said construction steel consumption has been rising these days. At present, stockpiles of finished steel products have fallen to 370,000 tons and steel ingots have fallen below 500,000 tons, which can secure the steel market in the near future, he said.
tuoitrenews, sgtt
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