PETALING JAYA: The unit price index of steel showed a decrease between -0.1% and -3.1% in May 2025 compared to the previous month, according to Chief Statistician Malaysia Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin.
The highest decrease was recorded in Miri (-3.1%), followed by Tawau (-2.4%) and Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Malacca & Negeri Sembilan (-2.3%). The unit price index of this material has recorded a decline for five consecutive months.
Mohd Uzir said the unit price index of steel and metal sections showed a decline between -0.1% and -3.5% in May 2025 compared to the previous month. The highest decrease was recorded in Miri (3.5%), followed by Penang, Kedah & Perlis (-1.2%).
Meanwhile, the price index per unit of cement remained unchanged for almost all areas in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak. On the contrary, the unit price index for this material recorded a slight increase in several areas namely Selangor, W.P. Kuala Lumpur, Malacca & Negeri Sembilan (0.4%) and Penang, Kedah & Perlis (0.3%).
An annual comparison for the period of May 2024 and May 2025 indicated that the unit price index of cement increased between 0.1% to 3.5% for almost all areas in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak. The highest increase was recorded in Johor and Tawau (3.5%), followed by Pahang (3.3%).
Nevertheless, an annual comparison of the unit price index of steel recorded a decrease between -2.2% to -15.5% in May 2025 as compared to the same month last year for almost all areas in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.
Mohd Uzir said that the average price per unit of steel, consisting of mild steel round bars and Mycon 60 high tensile deformed bars recorded a slight decrease (-0.4%) with an average price of RM3,476.75 per metric tonne as compared to the previous month (April 2025: RM3,490.80 per metric tonne).
Meanwhile, the average price of Ordinary Portland cement showed a slight increase (0.2%), with an average price of RM23.75 per 50kg bag as compared to April 2025 (RM23.70 per 50kg bag).
BCI with steel bars for all building categories in Peninsular Malaysia recorded a decrease between -0.1% to -0.9% in May 2025 as compared to the previous month. The decrease for BCI with steel was recorded for almost all building categories except in Perak.
BCI with steel bars in Sabah also registered a slight increase between 0.1% to 0.3% for almost all building categories in Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan in May 2025 as compared to the previous month. Meanwhile, BCI in Tawau recorded a decrease between 0.3% to 0.7% for almost all categories of building.
A monthly comparison of BCI with steel bars in Sarawak also recorded a slight decrease between -0.1% and -1.6% for almost all categories of buildings except in Kuching.
