KARACHI: Amid rising construction activities, steel bar makers on Monday in­­creased the prices by Rs5,000 per tonne to Rs142,500-143,500 per tonne.

A builder said he had received a letter from Agha Steel Industries Ltd indicating a jump of Rs5,000 to Rs142,500-143,500 per tonne, attributing price hike to an unexpected surge in international scrap prices.

He said Amreli Steels had also sent the letter with the same price hike, citing continuous increase in raw material prices.

In the last week of February, steel bar makers had reduced prices to Rs132,500-135,000 per tonne after hitting Rs139,500-142,500 per tonne in the first week of January.

Steel bar prices had been under pressure from November 2020 owing to rising steel scrap prices in world markets as claimed by its producers. During November 2020, steel bar prices were ranging between Rs110,000-113,000 per tonne.

Contrary to the claims of steel bar manufacturers, figures of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) revealed a decline during 9MFY21 in average per tonne of iron and steel scrap price to $370.5 per tonne from $389.5 per tonne in the same period last year.

Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2021