Prices of many essential goods decrease, rice on the rise

Oil, steel, gas down

World oil prices on the morning of May 11 (Vietnam time) were as follows: WTI crude oil price decreased by 1.3 USD, down to 72.41 USD/barrel, while Brent oil price decreased by 1.13 USD, down to 76.31 USD/barrel.

Oil prices fell for a second session, although not as low as the previous session, ending a three-day winning streak as a surprise rise in U.S. crude inventories raised concerns about demand and investors awaited inflation data for a possible adjustment in U.S. interest rates.

WTI oil price on the world market on the morning of May 11 (Vietnam time).

Demand is expected to weaken, with US crude inventories rising by about 3.6 million barrels in the week ended May 5 while gasoline inventories rose by 399,000 barrels.

In the domestic market, the selling prices of gasoline and oil from this afternoon (May 11) will be applied according to the new price.

Leaders of some key petroleum enterprises said that domestic retail gasoline prices in today's adjustment period are likely to decrease sharply following world gasoline prices.

Accordingly, the price of E5 RON 92 gasoline may decrease by nearly 1,000 VND/liter. Meanwhile, the decrease of RON 95 may be even greater.

In the same trend, oil prices are likely to decrease by 600 - 700 VND per liter, depending on the type. In case the regulatory agency allocates or does not spend the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund, the price of petroleum may decrease less.

If so, this will be the second consecutive sharp price reduction. In the most recent adjustment period (May 4), gasoline prices were deeply reduced by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

At that time, the price of RON 95 gasoline decreased by 1,310 VND/liter, the current selling price is 22,320 VND/liter. The price of E5 gasoline decreased by 1,250 VND/liter, down to 21,430 VND/liter. The price of diesel oil decreased by 1,140 VND/liter, the selling price is 18,250 VND/liter. The price of kerosene decreased by 960 VND/liter, the selling price is 18,520 VND/liter.

Also on the downward trend, steel prices today, May 11, recorded a decline on the trading floor after many consecutive increases. Having passed the bottom, when will the steel industry recover?

Analysts say that although public investment disbursement is forecast to accelerate in the coming quarters, there is still another drawback that prevents the steel industry from recovering this year.

Domestic steel prices have decreased by VND50/kg - VND450/kg. This is the fourth consecutive decrease since April 8. Currently, construction steel prices are around VND14,720/kg - VND15,660/kg (depending on the brand and type of steel).

Previously, the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) also predicted that domestic steel prices would continue to decrease.

The steel industry has bottomed out, but when will it recover?

Currently, the picture of the steel industry's business results has shown some bright spots after two consecutive quarters of decline. Most recently, Mr. Tran Dinh Long - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hoa Phat made the following statement:The most difficult period of the steel industry is over.”. Currently, the total profit of steel enterprises on the stock exchange is estimated at 500 billion VND in the first quarter. Although this figure is still quite modest, it has improved significantly compared to the negative 4,700 billion VND in the fourth quarter of 2022.

According to VNDirect Securities, the outlook for the residential real estate industry has the greatest impact on the demand for Vietnam's steel industry, accounting for about 60-65% of the industry's total demand. Although the Government has issued Decree 10/2023/ND-CP amending and contributing to the solution of legal bottlenecks, VNDirect believes that it is still too early to assess whether the real estate market will soon "defrost" when the actual effectiveness of policy implementation is still unclear and many bottlenecks have not been thoroughly resolved.

VNDirect believes that policies issued to ease the real estate market since the beginning of the year can partially remove bottlenecks, however, more synchronous solutions are needed in terms of both legal procedures and access to capital sources for the real estate market to recover.

Therefore, the analysis team believes that domestic real estate supply will only recover from 2024 if financial pressure is reduced as banks create more favorable conditions for accessing capital and stimulate home buyers. This leads to the strong recovery of Vietnam's steel demand only from 2024.

Pig and rice prices increase, businesses are busy with orders

Rice prices today, May 11, in the Mekong Delta region remained stable after a downward adjustment session. Accordingly, at An Giang warehouse, IR 504 rice is being purchased by traders at 6,200 - 6,300 VND/kg; OM 5451 rice is being purchased by traders at 6,300 - 6,400 VND/kg; Dai Thom 8 rice is being purchased by traders at 6,600 - 6,800 VND/kg; OM 18 rice is being purchased by traders at 6,400 - 6,500 VND/kg; Nang Hoa 9 is 6,600 - 6,750 VND/kg; Nhat rice is 7,800 - 8,000 VND/kg; Long An dry sticky rice is 8,600 - 8,800 VND/kg, An Giang dry sticky rice fluctuates at 8,000 - 8,200 VND/kg and IR 504 dry rice remains at 6,500 VND/kg.

Regarding raw rice, prices continued to increase, while finished rice remained high. Accordingly, the price of IR 504 summer-autumn raw rice was VND9,800/kg; IR 504 winter-spring raw rice was VND9,850/kg, up VND50/kg; and IR 504 finished rice was VND11,200/kg.

Regarding by-products, the price of by-products has been adjusted up for IR 504 broken rice. Accordingly, the current price of IR 504 broken rice is at 9,400 VND/kg, an increase of 100 VND/kg. Meanwhile, dry bran fluctuates around 7,350 - 7,450 VND/kg.

At the retail market, rice prices remained stable after the adjustment session. Accordingly, regular rice is 11,000 - 12,000 VND/kg; Jasmine fragrant rice is 14,000 - 15,000 VND/kg; Soc regular rice is 15,000 VND/kg; glutinous rice is 16,000 - 18,000 VND/kg; Nang Nhen rice is 22,000 VND/kg; Common white rice is 14,500 VND/kg; Nang Hoa is 18,500 VND/kg; Soc Thai is 18,000 VND/kg; Taiwanese fragrant rice is 20,000 VND/kg; Japanese rice is 22,000 VND/kg; Bran is 7,500 - 8,000 VND/kg; Long grain Thai fragrant rice remains at 18,000 - 19,000 VND/kg and Jasmine rice at 19,000 VND/kg.

According to traders, at the beginning of the week, the supply of raw rice was low, and the price of all types of rice tended to increase. The supply of Cambodian rice was low, and the price of rice remained high. Dry rice transactions were active, and demand was high.

In the export market, according to the Vietnam Food Association, the export price of 5% broken rice from Vietnam is at 488 USD/ton; 25% broken rice is at 468 USD/ton; and Jasmine rice is at 553-557 USD/ton.

Rice prices on May 11 are on the rise.

According to businesses, the current export price of rice has reached its highest level since the beginning of the year. The current price has increased by 15 USD compared to the peak in February. Not only Vietnam, but Asian rice prices are also on the rise, with Pakistan's 5% broken rice increasing by 10 USD to 543 USD/ton in early May, Thailand's stable price at 495 - 500 USD/ton and India's at 453 USD/ton. According to a report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), rice exports in the first 4 months of 2023 reached 1.56 billion USD, up 54.5%; the average price reached 526 USD/ton, up 7.6% over the same period last year.

The price of live pigs today, May 11, increased from 1,000 - 2,000 VND/kg in some localities across the country. In particular, some localities have jumped to 56,000 VND/kg.

In the Northern region, the price of live pigs today recorded a slight increase and fluctuated between 52,000 - 54,000 VND/kg. Specifically, after increasing by 1,000 VND/kg, the price of live pigs today in Hung Yen was purchased by traders at 54,000 VND/kg - equal to Vinh Phuc province. This is also the highest price in the region.

Following the same market trend as the Northern region, in the Central Highlands region, the price of live pigs today increased sporadically by 1,000 - 2,000 VND/kg and fluctuated between 52,000 - 56,000 VND/kg. Accordingly, after increasing by 2,000 VND/kg, traders in Quang Ngai are purchasing live pigs at 56,000 VND/kg, the highest price in the region. This is also the highest price in the country.

Also recording an increase of 2,000 VND/kg, the price of live pigs in Binh Thuan today stood at 55,000 VND/kg. In Khanh Hoa and Dak Lak, after both adjusting the price up, the current purchase price of live pigs is 53,000 VND/kg and 54,000 VND/kg, respectively. Other localities did not record any price fluctuations, in which the lowest price of 52,000 VND was recorded in a series of localities including Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Thua Thien Hue, Ninh Thuan.

In the Southern region, the price of live pigs also increased following the general market trend and fluctuated between 52,000 - 55,000 VND/kg. In particular, after a slight increase of 1,000 VND/kg, traders in the two provinces of Tay Ninh and Ben Tre are buying live pigs at the corresponding prices of 53,000 VND/kg and 54,000 VND/kg. Also recording the above increase, the price of live pigs in Dong Nai province is currently at the highest level of 55,000 VND/kg - equal to that of Long An province.

Other localities in the region did not record any price fluctuations, in which the lowest price in the region of 52,000 VND/kg was recorded in Binh Phuoc, Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, An Giang, Can Tho, Kien Giang. Other localities in the region recorded live pig prices fluctuating between 53,000 - 54,000 VND/kg.

Ngoc Khanh (According to Congthuong.vn/vietnamnet.vn)