Businessmen expect the price of steel to rise in December as a result of growing demand and the rising price of raw materials worldwide. A board member of El Geyoushi Steel Company, Ayman El Geyoushi, expects the price of rebar to rise to EGP 100 in December as a result of increased commercial demand. The rise in demand is thought to be the result of unstable weather patterns, in particular high levels of rain that are expected to hit the region, prompting citizens to buy higher levels of steel and cement. El Geyoushi predicted that the price of steel will lead to unexpected increases in the price of scrap steel and crude billet, the primary component in producing rebar, the price of which has risen by $10 per tonne to $625 at the beginning of the week. “Steel companies may in fact raise their prices, especially considering that the demand for Scrap Steel has risen considerably since September as a result of an increase in both renovations and the construction of new houses," said a representative of Ezz Steel, Ahmed Hasaballah. A representative of the El Garhy Steel Company, Mohamed Tawfiq, described the ability of steel companies to announce price increases as natural, considering the rise in the amount of crude steel used in world industry. Tawfiq also rejected claims that new increases would open the door to the importation of Turkish steel, saying “the price of Turkish steel is now $770 dollars per tonne, the equivalent of EGP 4600, making domestic steel cheaper than imports." He continued, “some traders may also raise the price based on the knowledge that many local distributors' stockpiles have been depleted." He noted that Beshay Steel fixed its price at the beginning of the month at EGP 4,025 pounds per tonne, with Ezz Steel doing the same at EGP 4,080 per tonne.
