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Steel consumption falls in September
The volume of steel consumed in September month-on-month fell by 100,000 tonnes to 300,000 tonnes, and the amount produced dropped 12 per cent to 320,000 tonnes.
According to the Viet Nam Steel Association (VSA), compared with the same period last year, production and consumption volume in September sharply increased by 226 per cent and 250 per cent, respectively.
Last month was the seventh month in the lunar calendar, a month in which people traditionally do not start construction projects. This was the reason for the decreased consumption, said Nguyen Tien Nghi, deputy chairman of the VSA.
In the first days of September, the price of steel sold by VSA members increased due to increasing prices of raw material and petrol in the world market, as well as fluctuations in the dollar exchange rate domestically.
However, in the last days of the month, the price was stable.
Many steel companies reduced their prices for suppliers, but suppliers did not in turn decrease their prices for consumers, according to Nghi.
Recently, the price of steel without value-added tax ranges from VND11.2 million (US$622) to VND11.7 million ($650) per tonne. This price is up by VND300,000 ($16) per tonnes over August, but is down by VND4.6 million ($255) per tonne over same period last year.
In the first nine months of the year, the VSA members produced 2.9 million tonnes of steel. Meanwhile, the country consumed 3.05 million tonnes, increasing by 32 per cent over same period in 2008.
It is estimated that the total volume of steel consumed in the country in the whole year will be 5.2 million tonnes, up by 28 per cent compared with last year.
According to a report from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the volume of stockpiled steel is about 180,000 tonnes. The price of steel is forecast to be stable or to drop slightly this month.
In another development, the VSA said that the volume of rolled steel imported from ASEAN countries to Viet Nam kept increasing.
vietnamnews
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