2:37:08 PM | 26/12/2007
Vietnamese steelmakers will raise prices of finished steels by VND150,000 (US$9.37) per ton over last week as steel ingot price soared to US$650 per ton, up US$20 on month, said chairman of the Vietnam Steel Association Pham Chi Cuong, without forecast for the upcoming time.
Offering price of China-sourced steel ingot has climbed to US$680 per ton, up US$30 over mid December, Pham Chi Cuong claimed.
Many of the local steel producers have canceled their buying, in turn, slowing down the production and supply and finally pushing the price of finished steel, Cuong warned.
The continuous price increases of finished steel are also attributed to soaring prices of almost all input costs including transportation fees to indirect adverse impacts of inflation.
Currently, construction steel price has exceeded VND15 million (US$937.5) a ton and even higher in some remote areas, local traders claimed.
Steel expenditures account for 26 per cent of the total construction spending, said senior director of a bridge building company. He noted that with the ever high prices, many constructors will face bankruptcy sooner or latter. (
www.tuoitre.com.vn))
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