Rebar prices soared 37 per cent in December 2010 compared to the same period in 2009. While Ordinary Portland cement augmented 5.81 per cent and white cement 3.28 per cent compared to December 2009, according to Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). Iron cement increased 1.71 per cent and gypsum 2 per cent compared to December 2009. Last week, Ezz Steel raiseed rebars wholesale prices by LE350 ($60.2) per ton, an increase of 8.7 per cent. The wholesale price reached LE4350 ($749.3) per ton while the average selling price to the consumer stand at LE4510 ($776.9). Beshay and Al Garhy prices exceeded Ezz's by LE100 ($17.2) to record LE4450 ($766.5) per ton against LE4050 in the last month. By the first of December, Ezz Steel said it raised its steel rebars price by 5.3 per cent, to $714.3 per tonne (LE4000) on the back of global rises and the hike in imported input prices of billet. The leading market producer said that prices will range between LE4120 and LE4150 for consumers. Other producers on the market, heavily dependant on imports of billet, tend to follow Ezz Steel.
