Prices of steel products are forecast to continue rising in the latter months of the year due to a hike in the prices of steel ingot and steel scrap.

This was stated by the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA).

Nguyen Van Sua, deputy chairman of the association, said because prices of input materials have been increasing strongly, steel producers have to raise the selling price of the products to offset production costs.

In August alone, steelmakers in the northern region had to increase prices five times, with a combined increase of VND1.1 million (US$48.8) per tonne from VND10.77 million per tonne.

In the same month, steel producers in the southern region hiked prices three times. Prices of steel products in the region currently range from VND12.4 million per tonne to VND12.7 million per tonne.

According to VSA, steel scrap is being imported at $350-354 per tonne, $40 higher than the price one month ago. Domestic steel scrap is being sold at VND6.8-7.2 million per tonne, compared with VND6.35-6.55 million in August.

The price of imported steel ingot in early September was quoted at $540-545 per tonne, 13 per cent higher than early August. Price of domestic steel ingot went up from VND10.5 million per tonne to VND12.1 million.

VSA deputy chairman Sua predicted, “Steel ingot price will likely surge to VND12.7 million per tonne, thus the price of steel products would continue moving up this month.”

Last month, the local steel industry produced 13 million tonnes, an increase of 17.4 per cent compared with the same period last year. Of the total, 11 tonnes were sold in the local market, 14.9 per cent higher than August 2016.

Viet Nam also exported 2.98 million tonnes of steel products from January to July, earning revenue of $2 billion, a rise of 27 per cent in volume and 50 per cent in value against the corresponding period. — VNS