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AlSharq – Media Division, 23 June 2008,
by UAE daily Emirates Business
24/7,
Abu
Dhabi steel prices have increased 20
percent in April
Steel prices in Abu Dhabi
soared more than 20 percent in April
from the month earlier as the rising
cost of building materials fuels
inflationary pressures across the Gulf,
official data showed on Monday.
Building material suppliers are
struggling to keep up with demand as the
United Arab Emirates, the second-largest
Arab economy, witnesses a construction
boom buoyed by a near seven-fold rise in
oil prices since 2002.
In the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, the cost
of flat steel from Turkey rose 28.9
percent in April to 4,450 dirhams
($1,212) per tonne, compared with 3,450
dirhams per tonne in March, data from
the Abu Dhabi Department of Planning and
Economy (DPE) showed.
Flat steel prices soared 58.9 percent
compared with April 2007, the data
showed.
The price of other varieties of steel
also climbed in April, with angled steel
from Korea jumping 36.6 percent from
March to 4,400 dirhams per tonne, the
department said in a monthly report.
Price controls on building materials are
one way Gulf Arab governments are trying
to control inflation, which surged to
11.1 percent in the UAE last year, the
highest in at least 20 years. Abu Dhabi
inflation was 11.7 percent in 2007.
The UAE ordered a country-wide lifting
of customs duties on cement and steel in
March, aiming at "stabilising the real
estate market and the construction boom
and to reduce the burden on
contractors".
Qatar, the world's biggest exporter of
liquefied natural gas, also said earlier
this month it would freeze the price of
steel and cement for three years to
tackle inflation that hit almost 15
percent in the first quarter.
In Abu Dhabi, the cost of Portland
cement held steady in April from the
month earlier at 440 dirhams per tonne,
while the price of lime imported from
Oman soared 127 percent to 850 dirhams
per tonne, the data showed.
Aldar Properties, with about $65 billion
worth of projects in the pipeline, is
spearheading the Abu Dhabi government's
drive to develop residential and leisure
districts, including a Ferrari theme
park.
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