Price index of sand, aggregates up in April: Statistics Dept

PETALING JAYA: The unit price index of sand recorded an increase between 0.2% and 2.6% for almost all areas in April 2024 compared to the previous month, according to Chief Statistician Malaysia Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin.

He said the highest increase was in Penang, Kedah and Perlis (2.6%). This was followed by Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan (1.2%), and Terengganu and Kelantan (0.9%).

The unit price index of aggregates also recorded a slight increase between 0.1% and 0.8% for all areas in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.

Mohd Uzir said a monthly comparison showed the unit price index of steel remained unchanged for almost all areas in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.

There was a slight decrease in the index for the material in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan (-0.5%) and Tawau (-0.4%). Meanwhile, there was a slight increase in Penang, Kedah and Perlis, and Kota Kinabalu (0.5% respectively).

Meanwhile, a monthly comparison for cement showed that the unit price index remained unchanged for almost all areas in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak in April. However, there was a slight increase for the material’s price index in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan (1.9%).

An annual comparison for April 2023 and April 2024 showed that the unit price index of cement increased between 1.9% to 7.1% for all areas in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak. The highest increases were in Penang, Kedah and Perlis (7.1%), followed by Terengganu and Kelantan (5.7%), Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan (4.4%), and Tawau (2.2%).

An annual comparison of the average price per unit of steel recorded a slight decrease of between 1% and 5.6% compared to the same month last year. However, there was a slight increase in the index for Johor (0.7%).

Mohd Uzir said the average price per unit of cement (ordinary portland) remained unchanged in April compared to March with an average price of RM23.01 per 50kg bag.

Meanwhile, the average price per unit of steel, consisting of mild steel round bars and Mycon 60 high tensile deformed bars recorded a slight increase (0.5%) with an average price of RM3,702.88 per tonne compared to the previous month (March 2024: RM3,683.51 per tonne).

Starting from January 2024, the Building Cost Material Index (BCI) by building category and region is rebased to January 2023 equals 100.

The month-on-month of the BCI (with steel bars) for all building categories in April 2024 increased between 0.1% and 0.5% for almost all areas in Peninsular Malaysia. However, there was a slight decrease of between 0.1% and 0.4% in the BCI (with steel bars) for almost all building categories in Terengganu and Kelantan.

The BCI (with steel bars) in Sabah showed a slight increase of between 0.2% and 0.3% for almost all building categories. Nevertheless, BCI (with steel bars) for almost all building categories in Tawau showed a slight drop of between 0.1% and 0.2% in April compared to the previous month. Meanwhile, the index for almost all others building categories in Kuching, Sibu and Miri remained unchanged.

On a global perspective, according to the World Bank’s Commodity Market Outlook for April, steel demand is envisaged to remain subdued, given the continuing weakness in residential construction activity in China.

In addition, although steel output is expected to recover in 2025, the anticipated increase in iron ore production in Australia and Brazil, along with new projects elsewhere, is likely to put further downward pressure on prices. As a result, prices are forecast to decline by 9% in 2024 (year-on-year), and a further 5% in 2025.