The unit price index of steel and metal sections decreased by 0.1% to 2.7% for almost all areas in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.
KUALA LUMPUR: The unit price index of steel decreased by 0.6% to 5.7% for almost all areas in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak in September 2024 compared to the previous month, according to the Statistics Department.
In a special statement for building and structural works for September 2024, chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the highest decrease was in Perak (5.7%), followed by Kota Kinabalu (2.3%) and Penang, Kedah and Perlis (1.7%).
Additionally, the unit price index of steel and metal sections decreased by 0.1% to 2.7% for almost all areas in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak, with the highest decrease in Miri (2.7%), followed by Sibu (2.4%) and Penang, Kedah and Perlis (1.6%).
Mohd Uzir said the unit price index of sand increased by 0.5% to 1.3% for several areas in Peninsular Malaysia in September.
“However, the rate of increase for the price index of this material is slightly lower compared to the previous two months.
“Apart from that, the unit price index of cement also increased by 0.1% to 0.9% for almost all areas in September as compared to the previous month,” he added.
According to Mohd Uzir, the unit price index of cement increased by 0.2% to 2.9% year-on-year in September for almost all areas in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.
The highest increase was recorded in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Negri Sembilan (2.9%), followed by Pahang (2.7%) and Tawau (2.2%).
“Nevertheless, an annual comparison of the unit price index of steel decreased by 0.1% to 4.2% in September 2024 as compared to the same month last year for almost all areas in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak,” he added.
The chief statistician also elaborated that the average price of cement (Ordinary Portland) recorded a marginal decrease (0.4%) with an average price of RM23.23 per 50-kg bag compared with August 2024 (RM23.33 per 50-kg bag).
“The average price per unit of steel, consisting of mild steel round bars and Mycon 60 high tensile deformed bars recorded a decrease (1%) with an average price of RM3,668 per tonne as compared with the previous month (August 2024: RM3,705 per tonne),” he noted.
Meanwhile, the Building Cost Material Index (BCI) with steel bars for all building categories decreased by 0.4% to 2.3% for almost all areas in Peninsular Malaysia in September 2024 compared to the previous month.
A decrease in the BCI with steel bars was recorded for almost all building categories except for timber buildings and timber piling in the several areas of Penang, Kedah and Perlis, Perak and Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Negri Sembilan.
However, BCI with steel bars increased by 0.1% to 0.3% for several building categories in Johor and Pahang.
Apart from that, Mohd Uzir said the BCI with steel bars in Sabah also decreased by 0.1% to 1.1% for almost all building categories in Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan, while the index for almost all other building categories in Tawau remained unchanged.
The BCI with steel bars in Sarawak for September 2024 also decreased by 0.1% to 0.9% for almost all categories of buildings in Kuching and Miri.
However, BCI with steel bars for almost all building categories in Sibu increased by 0.7% to 1.4%, Mohd Uzir added. — Bernama
