Posted on 09 Jun 2022
The average price of steel bars increased 20% in May 2022 to RM3,910 per tonne, from RM3,258 per tonne in the corresponding period last year, following the increase in the prices of building materials, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM) said.
Chief statistician Datuk Sri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the Cost Materials of Building Index (BCI) without steel bars & with steel bars for all building category in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak increased in May 2022, compared with a year ago.
He said the increase in BCI for Peninsular Malaysia was between 7.8% and 15.6%, Sabah (between 4.9% and 12.9%) and Sarawak (between 7.4% and 16.5%).
“Cement recorded an increase of 12.2% in May 2022 at RM20.89 per 50kg, compared with RM18.61 per 50kg in May 2021.
“Prices of most building materials such as aggregates, sand, bricks & walls, roofing materials, and ceiling materials also registered increases,” he said in a statement on Thursday (June 9).
Mohd Uzir said the unit price index of building materials increased between 4.1% to 19.9%.
“The price index per unit of steel and steel & sections increased by 19.9% and 18.1% respectively in May 2022, compared with May 2021.
“The price index per unit of cement increased by 12.4% during the period,” he said, adding that in terms of selected items and regions, the highest increase in steel was recorded in Miri (35.9%), followed by Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan (29.3%).
The price index per unit of cement for Kuching and Kota Kinabalu increased 19.6% and 17.6% respectively.
Both aggregates (21.7%) and sand (15.1%) also recorded a double digit increase in Penang, Kedah and Perlis.
The BCI with steel bars for all areas in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak showed increases for all building categories.
For BCI without steel bars, all regions in Peninsular Malaysia posted increases of between 5.4% and 14.6%, while that of Sabah and Sarawak (increased between 4.9% and 12% for almost all building categories).
According to a World Steel Association (WSA) report, the global steel consumption is expected to increase to 1.84 billion tonnes in 2022, up 0.4% from 2021, and in 2023, the steel demand is forecast to increase 2.2% to 1.88 billion tonnes, the DoSM said.
A Commodity Markets Outlook Report from World Bank mentioned that most commodity prices are expected to rise in 2022, it said.
Source:The Edge
