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Steel, cement prices rises again
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Steel and cement prices have been escalating again.
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Spiralling again: Cement prices continue to rise, putting pressure on the construction sector.
Steel and cement are seeing yet another price spiral, landing retail consumers in trouble, while big builders appear to bide their time or reschedule works in view of the impending rainy season.A recent decision to levy excise duty on the maximum retail price has forced the price of cement up by Rs. 2 or even Rs. 3 a 50-kg bag.
The scarcity of scrap has forced steel re-rollers to increase prices.
According to cement dealers here, the price of cement does not look like coming down and there is a light squeeze on supplies.
The bulk of Kerala’s demand for cement is met by supplies from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
Of late, the cement companies have reported poor wagon availability as a major impediment to replenishing supplies to the State. A cement dealer said that Kerala did not figure as a priority market for the cement producers, considering the heavy demand for the commodity in the producing States themselves.
The price of cement (paper bag) now hovers between Rs. 266 and Rs. 272 in and around Kochi city. These price levels are expected to hold firm for a while, as there is a perceived slowdown because of the coming rainy season.
Meanwhile, it is learnt that some steel re-rollers have travelled as far as South Africa to source scrap, putting in perspective the scarcity of the raw material and its possible impact.
The price of steel does not look like coming down in the near future. This is more so because re-rollers are facing one of the more serious shortages of scrap in the market.
One of the steel dealers in the city said the price of non-ISI-mark TMT bar had gone up by Rs. 7 over the past 10 days from Rs. 37 to Rs. 44 for a kg.
The price of ISI-mark steel is Rs. 45 a kg. In some cases, the price has gone up even by Rs. 8 a kg.
In any case, the situation in the State cannot be detached from the world market which has seen a reported 40 per cent rise in steel prices since the beginning of 2008.
Measures such as raising the export duty on steel and steel products have been taken to curb the inflationary trends. However, the steel industry is pressing the government to withdraw the duty, as it may affect future investments in the sector.
K.A. MARTIN
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Property Plus
Bangalore
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Thiruvananthapuram
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