Steel price today March 17: iron ore drops sharply

Iron ore concentrate (Fe 62) prices fell 3.3% in March.

Steel prices in the North

According to SteelOnline.vn, Hoa Phat steel brand, with CB240 rolled steel line at 13,480 VND/kg; D10 CB300 ribbed steel bar is priced at 13,580 VND/kg.

Viet Y steel brand, CB240 rolled steel line is priced at 13,580 VND/kg; D10 CB300 ribbed steel bar is priced at 13,690 VND/kg.

Viet Duc Steel, with CB240 coil steel line at 13,430 VND/kg, D10 CB300 ribbed steel bar is priced at 13,740 VND/kg.

Viet Sing Steel, with CB240 coil steel, is priced at VND13,430/kg; D10 CB300 ribbed steel is priced at VND13,640/kg.

VAS steel, with CB240 coil steel line at 13,330 VND/kg; D10 CB300 ribbed steel bar is priced at 13,380 VND/kg.

Steel prices in the Central region

Hoa Phat Steel, with CB240 coil steel line, is at 13,530 VND/kg; D10 CB300 ribbed steel bar is priced at 13,640 VND/kg.

Viet Duc Steel, currently CB240 coil steel is at 13,840 VND/kg; D10 CB300 ribbed steel is priced at 14,140 VND/kg.

VAS steel, CB240 coil steel line is at 13,740 VND/kg; D10 CB300 ribbed steel bar is priced at 13,790 VND/kg.

Steel prices in the South

Hoa Phat Steel, CB240 rolled steel, at 13,690 VND/kg; D10 CB300 ribbed steel is priced at 13,840 VND/kg.

VAS steel, CB240 coil steel line is at 13,380 VND/kg; D10 CB300 ribbed steel bar is priced at 13,480 VND/kg.

Steel prices on the exchange

Rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) for October 2025 delivery fell 9 yuan to 3,323 yuan/t.

The March iron ore concentrate (Fe 62) price fell 3.3% to $101.50/t, including costs and freight. The cost of shipping iron ore (Fe 58) by sea to Chinese ports fell from $92/t to $89/t from February 28 to March 7.

This trend is observed against the backdrop of declining iron ore imports into China. According to Chinese customs, in January-February, exports fell 8.4% year-on-year to 191.36 million tonnes.

China’s steel output in January also fell 5.6% year-on-year to 81.9 million tonnes. Ore demand continued to weaken due to large ore inventories held by Chinese steelmakers in December.

The cooling of market sentiment was driven by decisions passed at the National People's Congress in early March. The announcement of a 1.3 trillion yuan super-long-term special bond issuance, as well as a 500 billion yuan special bond issuance, both fell short of expectations.

This could indicate a reduction in government development programmes in the steel industry and major steel consumers. The potential for a recovery in ore demand is also limited by the continued downturn in the housing sector. In 2024, the volume of unsold housing in China increased by 16% to 391 million square metres.

Market participants expect demand for ore to pick up in late March and April, as the construction season begins. This is expected to contribute to a rebound in prices.

Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/gia-thep-hom-nay-17-3-quang-sat-giam-manh.html