HÀ NỘI — Domestic steel prices are expected to rise in the near future, thanks to increasing construction demand, the real estate market’s recovery and high consumption, Việt Nam Steel Association (VSA) said.

Nguyễn Văn Sưa, VSA’s vice chairman, said the selling price of steel billets and bars had risen since July.

Specifically, steel billet prices increased from US$300-$310 per tonne in July to $315-$325 per tonne at the beginning of this month. The prices of steel bars also increased from $308-$315 per tonne to $330-$338 per tonne.

The prices of building steel, excluding VAT, delivered at factories have remained stable over the past two months at VNĐ9.4 million-VNĐ9.9 million per tonne in the north and VNĐ9.4 million-VNĐ9.7 million per tonne in the south.

Sưa said steel prices could rise further as the prices of steel billets have been rising, while the property market was expected to develop in the last few months of the year.

In addition, reports from VSA showed that the steel output of its members last month reached 1.4 million tonnes, posting a 13.6 per cent year-on-year increase.

Steel sales in July reached more than 1.2 million tonnes, increasing 27.3 per cent year-on-year, and 20 per cent higher from the previous month.

The exports of steel products in July also posted a 57 per cent year-on-year rise to reach 246,500 tonnes.

Sưa said the surge in both steel production and consumption showed that domestic steel producers could meet the demand for building steel.

However, he said steel businesses should further improve their products’ quality and reduce production costs to offer more competitive prices. — VNS