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Steel prices in Saudi Arabia plunged by more than 30 percent for April deliveries as a result of a decline in real estate loans, high interest rates, a newspaper said on Wednesday.
Industry sources believe the steel price decline is good news for contractors and builders and will give a strong push to the construction sector, the Arabic language daily Al-Madina said, citing market sources.
It said most steel products in the largest Arab economy dipped sharply in April, mainly Sabic Steel, which plummeted by around 1,336 saudi riyals ($356) to SAR 2,806 ($748.65) per tonne in April compared to SAR 4,142 ($1,104.5) in April 2022.
“This decline is a good opportunity for developers and builders… it will revive the construction market since steel is a key component of building activity,” said Raed Al-Okailki, head of the contractors’ committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce.
The paper quoted another industry source as saying steel prices have steadily fallen since the start of 2023 due to high interest rates and slowing global economy.
“This will largely benefit the construction sector in Saudi Arabia as we expect prices to remain relatively low in the next months,” said Nabil Al-Halabi, sales manager at a Saudi steel company.
(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)
