Steel prices rise sharply

The surge in steel prices in the world market has forced Vietnamese businesses to raise their selling price by US$20-40/tonne, said Nguyen Tien Nghi, Deputy Head of the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) on February 11.

Prices of steel billet in the world market in January 2011 stood at US$670-690/tonnes, an increase of US$50-US$80/tonne over the previous month.

In Vietnam steel billet is traded at US$800-825/tonne, US$25/tonne higher than last year’s same period.

According to the VSA, steel consumption in the country reached about 340,000 tonnes in January. VSA also estimated that steel manufacturers may continue to push up the prices of steel in February and March because of the negative impact of the US$ and the VND exchange rates and the high rates on bank loans.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade predicted that the domestic demand for steel will hit 6.9 million tonnes, a rise of 10 percent over 2010.

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