Iron factories reduced their prices by LE200-300 in mid May due to a sharp decline in sales during the months of April and May. Beshay Steel, the second largest producer of iron in the market, sent a statement to the Ministry of Trade and Industry saying it has reduced its prices by LE200. One ton of Beshay Steel iron is now LE3600. Other iron producers have cut their prices by LE300, with the price for one ton of iron falling under LE3450. Such measures are intended to push up demand, which decreased when iron companies raised prices by 25 percent last month. Hesham el-Degwui, a distributor, said iron sales have dropped considerably since the beginning of May even though factories have reduced their prices by LE300. According to el-Degwui, importers are losing around LE500 per ton due to the low prices. Meanwhile, Ezz Steel, which controls the lion's share of the Egyptian steel market, and and el-Garhi Steel have maintained prices of LE3800 per ton, as announced earlier this month. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
