Steel sale is yet to recover on the local market, despite domestic steelproducers' efforts to boost consumption coinciding with the start ofthe construction season, according to the Vietnam Steel Association(VSA).
The association said construction steelsales in September declined 3.87 percent against August and 2.29 percentyear-on-year to 353,792 tonnes.
Production in the same month also fell 9.46 percent from August and 7.43 percent against September 2012 to 347,780 tonnes.
However, in the first nine months of this year, the steel productionreached 3.36 million tonnes, a marginal increase of 0.02 percent againstthe same period last year, while consumption rose 2.46 percent to 3.38million tonnes.
The steel inventory reached 317,504tonnes in the first nine months of this year, VSA figures showed, addingthe inventory remained at a normal rate.
Producershad a steel ingot inventory of 520,000 tonnes, which was expected tomeet production demand in the coming months.
Meanwhile, the selling price of construction steel in the north wasreduced by 100,000-350,000 VND to 12.24-12.95 VND million per tonne inSeptember, as producers sought to counter low demand, according to thedomestic market management team under the Ministry of Industry andTrade.
But the domestic market still sitsprecariously at the start of the season, because increased electricprices have pushed up steel production costs, making it even moredifficult for suppliers to remain competitive.
Theassociation said the building season got off to a slow start inSeptember, as many storms and floods hampered projects.
The team expected steel prices to remain stable, while production andconsumption would also see little change in months to come.
The association also reported that Vietnam's steel imports in thefirst eight months of 2013 had surged 26.22 percent in volume and 11.1percent in value to 4.4 billion USD.
Moreencouragingly, Vietnam's steel export volume jumped 23.81 over the sameperiod to 1.4 million tonnes, with value rising 15.26 percent to 1.2billion USD.
The surge in exports had helped reduce consumption pressure on local steel producers, the association said.-VNA
The association said construction steelsales in September declined 3.87 percent against August and 2.29 percentyear-on-year to 353,792 tonnes.
Production in the same month also fell 9.46 percent from August and 7.43 percent against September 2012 to 347,780 tonnes.
However, in the first nine months of this year, the steel productionreached 3.36 million tonnes, a marginal increase of 0.02 percent againstthe same period last year, while consumption rose 2.46 percent to 3.38million tonnes.
The steel inventory reached 317,504tonnes in the first nine months of this year, VSA figures showed, addingthe inventory remained at a normal rate.
Producershad a steel ingot inventory of 520,000 tonnes, which was expected tomeet production demand in the coming months.
Meanwhile, the selling price of construction steel in the north wasreduced by 100,000-350,000 VND to 12.24-12.95 VND million per tonne inSeptember, as producers sought to counter low demand, according to thedomestic market management team under the Ministry of Industry andTrade.
But the domestic market still sitsprecariously at the start of the season, because increased electricprices have pushed up steel production costs, making it even moredifficult for suppliers to remain competitive.
Theassociation said the building season got off to a slow start inSeptember, as many storms and floods hampered projects.
The team expected steel prices to remain stable, while production andconsumption would also see little change in months to come.
The association also reported that Vietnam's steel imports in thefirst eight months of 2013 had surged 26.22 percent in volume and 11.1percent in value to 4.4 billion USD.
Moreencouragingly, Vietnam's steel export volume jumped 23.81 over the sameperiod to 1.4 million tonnes, with value rising 15.26 percent to 1.2billion USD.
The surge in exports had helped reduce consumption pressure on local steel producers, the association said.-VNA
