Domestic steel consumption in the first seven months of 2017 rose 14.5 per cent from the same period last year to 5.14 million tonnes, the Viet Nam Steel Association (VSA) said.

VSA said that by the end of July, steel inventory was 530,306 tonnes, reducing 19 per cent from the previous month.

Construction steel output last month was 780,000 tonnes, increasing 24 per cent from the corresponding period last year and 7 per cent higher than the previous month.

Export of construction steel reached 541,377 tonnes, posting a year-on-year increase of 75 per cent.

According to the association, in recent years, many local steel producers have yielded high revenue and profit, although steel consumption has witnessed difficulties.

Viet Nam is considered one of the largest steel producers in ASEAN since 2015. Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation has been able to produce hot rolled steel, reducing the annual import of steel from June 2017.

VSA also said Vietnamese steel producers had had to adjust prices due to the surge of steel billet. In particular, steel plants in the north increased their selling price by four times while those in the south increased it by three-four times.

In addition, the increase in demand and subsequent shortage of coal for steel production has contributed to the price rise.

It is expected that the steel billet prices will remain high at VND10,500-10,700 per kilo in the future, resulting in higher steel prices this month.

In the January-July period, construction steel production reached 5.2 million tonnes, posting a year-on-year rise of 13.5 per cent. — VNS