KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 8 — The unit price index for selected materials such as cement, sand and aggregates for most areas of Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, and Sarawak on a month-on-month (m-o-m) comparison recorded an increase in October 2023, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM).

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the October unit price index of cement for almost all areas posted a gain between 0.1 per cent and 2.2 per cent m-o-m.

"However, there was a decrease in the unit price index of cement in Perak (-0.2 per cent), Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan (-0.3 per cent), and Johor (-1.0 per cent),” he said.

Mohd Uzir noted the unit price index of sand was up between 0.6 per cent and 3.3 per cent for selected areas in Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak, namely Perak (2.2 per cent), Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan (0.6 per cent), Kuching (2.8 per cent) and Miri (3.3 per cent).

As for all areas in Sabah, he said the unit price index of this material remained unchanged.

Meanwhile, he said the unit price of steel for almost all areas declined between 0.9 per cent and 3.5 per cent m-o-m in October.

Additionally, the unit price index of steel and metal sections was down between 0.3 per cent and 1.1 per cent for almost all areas as compared to the month before.

"An annual comparison for the period of October 2022 and October 2023 showed that the unit price index of cement recorded an increase between 2.8 per cent and 29.4 per cent for all areas in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, and Sarawak.

"The highest increase in the price index per unit of cement was observed in Kelantan and Terengganu (29.4 per cent), followed by Pulau Pinang, Kedah and Perlis (25.7 per cent),” he said.

He also noted that the price index per unit of steel fell between 0.1 per cent to 5.8 per cent for October 2023 as compared to the same month last year.

However, he said an increase in the unit price index of steel was registered in Perak (0.6 per cent), Pulau Pinang, Kedah and Perlis (2.4 per cent) and Sandakan (1.4 per cent).

Mohd Uzir further stated that the average price of cement (Ordinary Portland) recorded a slight increase of 0.2 per cent with an average price of RM22.94 per 50 kilogram (kg) bag as against September 2023 (RM22.89 per 50 kg bag).

He also pointed out that the average price per unit of steel, consisting of mild steel round bars and Mycon 60 high tensile deformed bars stood at RM3,590.40 per tonne, a slight increase of 0.1 per cent versus the previous month (September 2023: RM3,587.62 per tonne).

In addition, he said the Building Material Cost Index (BCI) (with steel bars) for all building categories in Peninsular Malaysia grew between 0.2 per cent and 0.7 per cent in October 2023 for two areas specifically in Perak and Pulau Pinang, and Kedah and Perlis.

However, a slight decrease for BCI (with steel bars) between 0.2 per cent and 1.0 per cent was posted for Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan, Johor, and Kelantan and Terengganu.

"The BCI (with steel bars) for Sabah recorded an increase between 0.4 per cent and 0.6 per cent for almost all building categories in Sandakan and Tawau in October 2023 as compared to the previous month.

"However, the index for almost all building categories in Kota Kinabalu recorded a decrease in a range of 0.3 per cent and 1.6 per cent, except for timber buildings and timber piling,” he noted.

As for the monthly comparison of BCI (with steel bars) in Sarawak for October 2023, he said an increase in the index of between 0.1 per cent and 0.4 per cent was registered for almost all categories of buildings in Kuching and Miri.

Meanwhile, the index for almost all categories of buildings in Sibu remained unchanged as compared to the previous month, he added. — Bernama