AMMAN — Prices of
iron bars used in construction suddenly jumped in the wake of
Russia’s war on Ukraine. Afterwards, the price slipped a bit, but not back to pre-war levels,
businessmen argued.
اضافة اعلان
“Before the
Russian-Ukrainian war, prices stood at JD550 per tonne, but they rose after the
war to about JD750,” said Mansour Al-Banna, chairman of Jordan’s Cement Traders
Association.
In the following
weeks, “prices gradually declined, but they are still higher than before,
selling at JD620 to JD650 per tonne,”Banna told
Jordan News.
“I do not know why
local prices did not return to their normal average, although their price
declined globally as a result of a low demand for iron,” he said.
According to Banna,
the prices of most building materials have also risen, but iron specifically
was the primary reason for the higher costs domestically.
“Therefore, some
projects were temporarily halted because contractors are waiting for the price
of iron to drop,” he said.
Rebar trader Nabil
Al-Damisi said that “the rise in the prices of building materials, including
iron, will impact real estate prices, and we may see an increase in the prices
of apartments and houses.”
He said other
factors include sending workers home. “Postponing the completion of
construction projects will affect many workers, including those working in
electricity, aluminum installation and others, who will join the ranks of the
unemployed,” he said.
He pointed out that
the volatility of iron prices is causing “tension and discomfort” among workers
in the construction sector, which will ultimately lead to serious disruptions.
Jamal Abdel Mawla,
the representative of the construction sector in the Jordan Chamber of
Commerce, speculated on iron’s price rise, attributing it to “the increase in
demand and the rise in scrap prices locally”.
Jordan “has, in the
past six months, relied on local scrap instead of imports, because of the high
cost of import,” he explained.
To bring prices
down, he said there must be competition between iron factories. “The
competition will force a reduction in prices, which will reflect positively on
costs, merchants, and citizens”, he added.
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