Steel price today May 12: Concerns hinder the increase

World steel price today May 12

Concerns about global tariff wars continue to weigh on investor sentiment, raising concerns about weakening steel demand in the near term. While there are some expectations of economic stimulus measures, they are not yet clear enough to support a strong market rally.

In China, the May rebar futures price on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell slightly by 0.5% to 2,972 yuan per tonne. Meanwhile, iron ore prices remained stable at 757.5 yuan per tonne on the Dalian Commodity Exchange, while on the Singapore Exchange they fell by 0.5 USD to 97.75 USD per tonne.

In Türkiye, HMS 1&2 (80:20) scrap prices increased from USD 330 to USD 338/mt CIF, due to purchasing demand for June. However, rebar producers have not been able to reflect this input cost in their selling prices, keeping the upward momentum of scrap prices limited.

Türkiye’s steel output fell 3.4% in the first quarter, while consumption of rolled steel products fell sharply by 7.3%. The weakening in consumption led to a fall in prices of finished steel products and scrap.

In China, scrap prices remained stable at $320/t CIF. The fall in pig iron prices has led mills to use less scrap. Blast furnace, blow-oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) technology has an advantage over electric arc furnaces, which consume a lot of scrap.

In the US and Europe, scrap prices rose slightly but remained under pressure from weak demand. In the US, prices rose $6 to $310/t FOB, but many mills still refused to accept orders. In Western Europe, prices also rose $6 to $309/t FOB Rotterdam, but were still lower than at the end of April.

However, Türkiye still recorded positive signals when steel product exports in the first quarter of 2025 reached 3.8 million tons, up 18.5% compared to the same period last year, showing that some international demand remained stable. However, in general, the steel market outlook is still hindered by cautious sentiment and instability from global trade tensions.

Domestic steel price on May 12

Domestically, the construction steel market had no new fluctuations on May 12. Previously, from May 7, some businesses had adjusted prices slightly upward.

At Hoa Phat Group, CB240 steel price was recorded at 13,640 VND/kg, an increase of 90 VND compared to before. D10 CB300 steel also increased to 13,690 VND/kg.

At Viet Y Steel, CB240 steel is currently priced at 13,740 VND/kg, 160 VND higher than in March. Meanwhile, D10 CB300 steel also increased slightly by 50 VND, currently maintaining the price of 13,740 VND/kg.

Thus, after the price increase at the beginning of the month, the domestic steel market is maintaining a stable trend.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/gia-thep-hom-nay-12-5-tam-ly-lo-ngai-can-tro-da-tang-3154571.html