Iron ore prices hit new high
Today, January 4 - iron ore prices continuously increase, leading to consecutive increases in steel prices in recent trading sessions, and domestic steel prices gradually warm up.
The price of rebar for October 2024 delivery on the Shanghai Futures Exchange increased by 18 yuan to 4,027 yuan/ton.
Iron ore prices rose on expectations that the Chinese government will step up stimulus measures, while mills are restocking ahead of the start of the Lunar New Year holiday. Prices of the steelmaking raw material rose as much as 1.2% to close at their highest since June 2022.
Iron ore prices hit new highs.Domestic steel prices are forecast to gradually “warm up”. By the end of 2023, the domestic steel market will have had a total of 29 official price adjustments, with 19 decreases and 10 increases. This shows that the main trend is downward price and will decrease by an average of 9.6-10.4% compared to 2022.
Although steel prices are currently low, analysts say that steel prices are likely to gradually warm up as steel companies continue to increase selling prices and consumption output has also improved significantly at the end of the year and the beginning of the new year.
According to the Vietnam Steel Association, in 2024, steel production and consumption could reach 29 million tons and 21.67 million tons, up 6.7% and 7.4% respectively compared to 2023.
Gas prices continue to rise
Opening the morning trading session on January 4, 2024, today's gas price in the world market increased by 0.19% to 2.69 USD/mmBTU for natural gas contracts for delivery in February 2024.
Dutch and British natural gas prices fell in trading on Tuesday (January 2), with analysts at Engie EnergyScan saying that forecasts of lower temperatures and renewable energy production will support prices later this week.
Meanwhile, a cold spell is forecast for the coming week of January 8-10 that could see temperatures as low as 4°C below normal, with even colder temperatures expected from January 15. This could mean lower renewable energy output during the cold spell.
Earlier, natural gas prices spiked in the first session of the new year, reportedly due to the risk of supply disruptions in the Middle East following an attack on a container ship in the Red Sea.
In the domestic market, retail gas prices from the first day of the new year on January 1, 2024 will increase by 450 - 500 VND/kg (including value added tax). Accordingly, each gas cylinder will increase by 3,000 VND/6 kg, 6,000 VND/12 kg cylinder, 22,500 VND/45 kg cylinder and 25,000 VND/50 kg cylinder.
According to gas wholesalers, the world gas price for delivery under the contract (CP) in January 2024 increased by 10 USD/ton, to 625 USD/ton compared to December 2023, so the domestic retail gas price increased accordingly. From August 2023 to now, the retail gas price has continuously increased, except for December 2023, the gas price has remained unchanged.
USD surges to two-week high
USD exchange rate today January 4, USD VCB extended its increase to 100 VND in both buying and selling directions, world USD continued to increase strongly to the highest level in two weeks.
The central VND/USD exchange rate announced by the State Bank is adjusted to 23,886 VND/USD, an increase of 38 VND compared to the trading session on January 3.
Currently, the permitted exchange rate of commercial banks fluctuates from 23,400 - 25,030 VND/USD. The US Dollar exchange rate has also been brought to the buying and selling range of 23,400 to 25,030 VND/USD by the State Bank of Vietnam.
The USD exchange rate at banks and domestic foreign exchange rates this morning recorded a series of upward adjustments at banks. Specifically, Vietcombank has a buying price of 24,150 and a selling price of 24,520, an increase of 100 VND compared to the trading session on January 3. The current USD buying and selling prices are in the range of 23,400 - 25,300 VND/USD.
The US dollar rose to a two-week high as investors continued to take profits from short positions in the greenback that were built up late last year, even as they questioned market expectations for about six interest rate cuts by 2024. The dollar fell about 2% in December.
Domestic gold continues to increase, world gold falls sharply
Gold price today January 4: Domestic gold continues to increase by half a million VND/tael in both buying and selling directions, while world gold continues to decrease sharply.
At the time of survey at 5:00 a.m. on January 4, the gold price on the trading floors of some companies was as follows:
DOJI listed the price of 9999 gold at 72.40 million VND/tael for buying and 75.50 million VND/tael for selling.
At Mi Hong Gold and Gemstone Company, at the time of survey, the listed price of SJC gold was at 72.50 - 75.50 million VND/tael (buy - sell).
SJC gold price at Bao Tin Minh Chau Company Limited is also traded by the enterprise at 72.60 - 75.00 million VND/tael (buy - sell). Meanwhile, at Bao Tin Manh Hai, it is being traded at 72.50 - 75.70 million VND/tael (buy - sell).
According to Kitco, the world gold price recorded at 5:00 a.m. today, Vietnam time, was at 2,040.490 USD/ounce, down 19,645 USD/ounce compared to yesterday's gold price. Converted according to the current exchange rate at Vietcombank, the world gold price is about 59.206 million VND/tael (excluding taxes and fees). Thus, the price of SJC gold bars is still 13.294 million VND/tael higher than the international gold price.
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