|
Domestic steel market picks up
The volume of steel consumed by the domestic market in November increased after four continuous months of reduction, according to the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA).
In November, about 310,000 tonnes of steel were consumed, double the volume in October. Over the past 11 months, the country has consumed nearly 3 million tonnes.
Since the second week of last month, the price of construction steel has started to go up from between US$36 to US$90 to around US$660 per tonne. This price excludes transportation costs and value added tax.
Recently, the price of ingot went up from US$400 to US$450 per tonne, over US$100 per tonne higher than October.
According to the VSA, the domestic steel market has become busier thanks to support from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
The ministry had proposed various methods to the Government to help the steel industry solve its difficulties, the association said.
Last month, the ministry conducted an investigation into four steel companies to inspect their business and amounts of stockpiled steel.
The investigation showed that these four companies alone have 30,000 tonnes of steel, 115,000 tonnes of steel ingot and 75,000 tonnes of scrap steel in stock.
Due to the slow trade, the total volume of stockpiled steel and ingot in the whole country at the end of October was about 2 million tonnes, the ministry said.
After the investigation, the ministry released their conclusions for the reasons behind the large volume of stockpiled steel and steel ingot.
The decrease in domestic demand is cited as the first reason. Many construction projects nationwide were delayed and cancelled because of financial difficulties. Demand in housing hit rock bottom due to worldwide recession and high inflation in the country.
Moreover, most consumers limited their consumption a waiting cheaper prices upon observing the decreasing price of construction materials.
Several proposals were sent to the Government after the investigation. The ministry suggested that the Government increase the import tax on construction steel to 20 percent to limit the volume of imported steel, guide banks nationwide to resume lending to steel companies, extend loans and better manage the market to avoid speculation.
VOV,VNS
|
