KARACHI: Despite a slowdown in construction activities, the manufacturers on Monday again increased the steel bars prices by Rs7,000 per tonne.

Some 10 days back, they had raised the price by the same amount.

The new prices of steel bar produced by Agha Steel Ltd and Amreli Steel Ltd are fixed at Rs231,000 per tonne (9.5/10mm and 12mm), while 16mm and above rebar price is now Rs229,000 per tonne.

Both the manufacturers informed their clients that they could no longer absorb the huge price fluctuation in the production costs due to continuous and unprecedented increases in the cost of energy and freight amid a highly volatile rupee-dollar parity.

The steel prices were Rs214,000-216,000 per tonne in the last week of March.

Slowing construction activities could be gauged from low domestic cement output, clocking to 42.65m tonnes in 11MFY22 from 43.45m tonnes in the same period last fiscal year.

Published in Dawn,June 14th, 2022