The nation’s this year steel sales will rise only 7-10 percent year on year rather than 15 percent predicted by the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA), said VSA Secretary General Nguyen Tien Nghi.
Nghi said in the first quarter of this year, traders purchased a huge volume of steel in the hope of making a profit when steel prices increase. Their activities had driven up steel sales in the period, especially in March.
However, the consumption volume fell dramatically to 260,000-280,000 tonnes per month in the second quarter from around 500,000 tonnes per month in the previous quarter as speculators sold their stockpile due to an unexpected decrease in the world’s price.
In addition, according to Nghi, steel consumption will be slow in the third quarter when in the southern region the rainy season sets in.
The steel price has fallen to its lowest point and can neither be lower nor higher, Nghi said, noting that it is difficult to give exact supply and demand forecast in the context of economic fluctuations in Europe./.
Nghi said in the first quarter of this year, traders purchased a huge volume of steel in the hope of making a profit when steel prices increase. Their activities had driven up steel sales in the period, especially in March.
However, the consumption volume fell dramatically to 260,000-280,000 tonnes per month in the second quarter from around 500,000 tonnes per month in the previous quarter as speculators sold their stockpile due to an unexpected decrease in the world’s price.
In addition, according to Nghi, steel consumption will be slow in the third quarter when in the southern region the rainy season sets in.
The steel price has fallen to its lowest point and can neither be lower nor higher, Nghi said, noting that it is difficult to give exact supply and demand forecast in the context of economic fluctuations in Europe./.
