KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 12 ― The unit price index of steel increased between 0.2 per cent and 1.8 per cent for almost all areas in December 2023 compared to the previous month, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM).
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the highest increase in the unit price of steel was in Perak (1.8 per cent), followed by Johor (1.1 per cent), Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan (0.2 per cent).
A month-on-month comparison of selected construction materials and areas showed the unit price index remained unchanged for selected materials such as aggregates, sand and plywood for most areas in Malaysia.
The unit price index for steel and metal sections also remained unchanged for most areas.
"There was a slight decrease in the price index of this material for Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan (-0.1 per cent), Kota Kinabalu (-0.2 per cent) and Miri (-2.0 per cent).
While, there was a slight increase in the price index of this material in Perak and Kuching, which was 0.1 per cent respectively,” he said in a statement.
The chief statistician also said the monthly comparison of December 2023 also recorded that the unit price index for cement remained unchanged for almost all areas in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.
There was a slight increase in the unit price index for this material in a few areas, namely in Johor (1.6 per cent), followed by Penang, Kedah, Perlis, Terengganu and Kelantan, which was 0.6 per cent respectively.
An annual comparison for December 2022 and December 2023 showed that the unit price index of cement recorded an increase of between 2.8 per cent and 18.9 per cent for all areas in Malaysia.
The price index per unit of steel increased between 0.5 per cent and 4.6 per cent in December 2023 compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.
Mohd Uzir said the average price per unit of steel, consisting of mild steel round bars and Mycon 60 high tensile deformed bars was RM3,629.77 per tonne, recording a slight increase of 0.2 per cent compared to the previous month of RM3,621.24 per tonne.
The average price of cement (ordinary Portland) also recorded a slight increase of 0.2 per cent with an average price of RM23 per 50 kg bag compared to November 2023 (RM22.94 per 50 kg bag).
Apart from that, the month-on-month of the Building Cost Material Index (BCI) (with steel bars) for all building categories in December 2023 increased between 0.2 per cent and 2.4 per cent for almost all areas in Peninsular Malaysia.
From a global perspective, Mohd Uzir said a report from the South East Asia Iron and Steel Institute (SEAISI) in December 2023 predicted that Chinese steel prices would likely rise the following year.
“This is due to the expected slight expansion of both domestic and international market demand, coupled with ongoing cost increases due to the consistently high prices of input materials,” he added. ― Bernama
