The prices of rolled steel products have dropped by VND600,000 (USD26.08) per tonne, while the decrease for steel bars is VND200,000 per tonne.
Before June 7, steel products in Vietnam saw price hikes for quite a long time.
Many steelmakers in Vietnam on June 21 slashed the steel prices for the second time since June 7
Lao Dong Newspaper cited Hoang Tung from the AZ Thang Long Construction Management Board as saying that the construction sector's falling demand was among the major causes of lower steel prices.
The peak time for Vietnam’s construction sector is often in the first and last three months of the year. Meanwhile, June and July are the rainy season so fewer construction sites are carried out during this time.
Steel prices on the world market have tended to decline, which has also contributed to the fall in domestic steel prices.
Steel prices in the domestic market increased by up to 45% in recent months. The Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Industry Agency said that the input costs of the steel industry largely depended on the prices of raw materials in the global market which saw whopping increases between January and May this year.
Vietnam was reliant on imported raw materials for steel production, including iron ore, scrap steel, fat coal and graphite electrodes.
The agency also pointed out that the delays in shipping due to the impact of the pandemic also pushed up steel production costs.
