Steel prices cool down at the weekend

The price of steel for October delivery in October 2022 on the Shanghai trading floor this weekend fell 5 yuan compared to the previous session, to 4,616 yuan / ton.

Before, price of rebar Futures in China on May 20 were 4,796 yuan/ton ($716/ton), also down 1.4% from the previous day and the lowest level since March 1.

Regarding spot prices, Stainless Steel and cold rolled coil decreased by 0.3% and 0.2% to 17,823 yuan/ton ($2,662/ton) and 5,430 yuan/mt ($811/ton), respectively.

While, hot rolled steel coil and rebar move in the opposite direction. These two grades rose 1.3% and 0.6%, respectively, to 4,848 yuan/tonne ($724/ton) and 4,767 yuan/tonne ($712/ton).

I-shaped steel remained unchanged at 5,143 yuan/ton ($768/ton).

China’s manufacturing activity, especially in the economic hub Shanghai and surrounding areas, has shown signs of recovery since mid-May. However, the pace is still slow and steel demand from the sector is likely to continue to lackluster until industrial production can return to normal in June.

The Covid-19 epidemic affects steel production less than demand, so the supply is oversupply. This caused the price of many types of steel to go down recently.

China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said it will continue to implement the nationwide crude steel production cut to guide steel enterprises to abandon the quantity-oriented development method. , and promote the high-quality development of the steel industry.

However, according to scenario analysis by NRDC, there will be no pressure to reduce crude steel output for the whole year. In order to ensure the target for next year, steel mills that can produce normally still try their best to keep the same output level as last year.

It is known that due to the impact of Covid-19, blast furnace operation rate of steel mills in Northern China was at a low level from February to March this year. At the same time, pig iron production from January to March decreased by 14.97 million tons compared with the same period last year.

In April 2022, crude steel production was 20,000 tons and pig iron production was 76.78 million tons with daily output reaching 2.48 million tons. Since the total cast iron production in 2021 is 856 million tons and the pig iron production from January to April 2022 is 280 million tons, it is expected that the peak pig iron production in May-December 2022 will be 584 million tons.

Based on this calculation, the average monthly peak and average daily peak are expected to be 72.97 million tons and 2.38 million tons, respectively.

Domestic steel prices stand still

Regarding the domestic market, domestic steel price unchanged since May 17 and is around 18 million VND/ton. From the beginning of the year until now, construction steel price in the country increased 7 times, before decreasing 2 times recently. The reason for the decrease in steel price this time is said to be the price of steel billet and input materials in a downward trend.

In fact, the period from March to May is the peak of the construction season, leading to an increase in steel demand. However, this year that rule is reversed when in April, sales of construction steel fell 39% compared to March and down 33.6% compared to the same period in 2021.

The Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) explained that the continuous decrease in raw material prices from the end of March until now has caused the market to slow down. Meanwhile, distributors are looking for ways to reduce inventory, so factory shipments are much lower than usual.

As of the end of April, construction steel inventory at factories about 900,000 tons, almost double the same period last year.

Hoa Phat Group also recently said that sales of construction steel in April reached nearly 300,000 tons, down 30% compared to the same period last year, mainly because the inventory at dealers from the previous month was still low. .

Currently, Hoa Phat is still leading the market share Construction steel of Vietnam with 35.9%.

The slow domestic sales caused factories to boost exports to other markets.

However, in April and many months before that, steel demand in China slowed down due to the country’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Even the country’s domestic steel mills have to reduce output because of low demand when many works have to be postponed due to the blockade order.

Vietnam’s construction steel exports in April fell sharply by 44% compared to March and only increased slightly by nearly 5% compared to 2021.

Weakened exports, reduced domestic consumption of input materials also cooled down at the same time, putting pressure on steel prices in domestic construction.

According to data of VSA, construction steel price in May decreased by 300,000 – 500,000 VND/ton compared to the end of April, averaging around 18.25 – 18.5 million VND/ton depending on type. Domestic billet price decreased by 500,000 – 800,000 VND/ton to 16.2 – 16.5 million VND/ton.

Even, there was a time when the price of steel lost the mark of 18 million VND/ton to 17.8 million VND/ton. In just 3 days, construction steel price 2 times discount.

Steel prices in the South: Hoa Phat Steel, with CB240 coil line currently at 17,930 VND/kg; D10 CB300 rebar is priced at 17,830 VND/kg.

Pomina Steel, with its 2 product lines including CB240 coil, is currently at 18,420 VND/kg; D10 CB300 rebar is priced at 18,920 VND/kg.

In the southern market, VAS steel did not change its selling price compared to yesterday. CB240 coil line is currently at 17,880 VND/kg; with rebar D10 CB300 currently priced at 17,830 VND/kg.

Tung Ho Steel, with CB240 coil line, is priced at VND 18,070/kg; D10 CB300 rebar is currently priced at 18,070 VND/kg.

Steel prices in the North: Hoa Phat Steel today, CB240 coil is currently at 17,830 VND/kg; D10 CB300 rebar is priced at 18,280 VND/kg.

Vietnam Italy Steel stopped adjusting selling prices. In turn, CB240 steel coil is currently at VND 17,980/kg; D10 CB300 rebar line is priced at 18,230 VND/kg.

Viet Duc steel brand with CB240 coil is currently at VND 17,810/kg; and D10 CB300 rebar is priced at 18,370 VND/kg.

In the Northern market, VAS steel did not adjust prices. With CB240 coil line, currently at 17,570 VND/kg; D10 CB300 rebar line is priced at 17,780 VND/kg.

Viet Nhat Steel with 2 lines of steel including CB240 coil at 17,810 VND/kg; D10 CB300 rebar is priced at 17,910 VND/kg.

Viet Sing Steel, no change. Specifically, CB240 steel coil at 17,910 VND/kg; D10 CB300 rebar line is currently priced at 18,110 VND/kg.

Steel prices in the Central region: Hoa Phat Steel stopped adjusting selling price. CB240 coil line is currently at 18,180 VND/kg; D10 CB300 rebar is priced at 18,280 VND/kg.

Viet Duc Steel stopped fluctuating. Specifically, with 2 products of the company, including CB240 coil, currently at 18,070 VND/kg; D10 CB300 rebar is priced at 18,370 VND/kg.

VAS steel with CB240 coil is priced at VND 17,980/kg; Rebar D10 CB300 reached 18,030 VND/kg.

Pomina Steel, with CB240 coil line currently at 18,670 VND/kg; and D10 CB300 rebar is priced at 18,870 VND/kg.