SCAD: Cement Prices Up 8.7 Percent in April 2012

Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi (SCAD) issued its monthly report on the prices of building materials for the month of April 2012, which presents an analysis of the movements in the prices of the various materials used in the construction industry in Abu Dhabi market during April 2012 compared with March 2012 and April 2011. The dissemination of the report, which presents a wide range of price data, is intended to serve the needs of data users in the public and private sectors in research, planning and decision making in ways that support the construction sector, besides related and dependent sectors.

Prices of building materials in April 2012 Compared with March 2012 As SCAD's report reveals, the average prices of several building materials groups have undergone changes during April 2012, compared with March 2012. Prominent among these was the rise of 8.7 per cent in the average price of "Cement", reflecting increases in the prices of most of the items under this group in the range of 6.1 percent for "White Cement \ Al- Etihad \ Ton \ U.A.E." and 19.2 percent for "Portland Cement \ Al- Etihad \ Ton \ U.A.E.". Likewise, the "Cement blocks" group increased by 3.9 percent; due to increases of 2.7- 5.0 percent in the items of this group. In addition, the prices of "Glass" increased by 3.8 percent, while Waterproofing Products" and "Aggregates and Sand" decreased by 3.4 percent each.

The average prices of "Construction labour" decreased by 5.1 per cent; mainly due to the fall in the wages of "Carpenters" and "Blacksmiths" by 11.1 percent each. The next largest fall was in the average price of "Concrete", which dropped 2.1 percent, followed by "(PVC) Pipes" (down 2.0 percent), "Wires for Residential Towers" (down 1.7 percent and "Power Cables" (down 1.4 per cent).

Prices of building materials in April 2012 Compared with April 2011 SCAD's report also reviews changes in building materials prices in April 2012 compared with April 2011, revealing falls in the average price of most groups ranging between 0.2 percent for "Sanitary Ware- Bathroom Set without Accessories" and 20.0 percent in the case of "Wires for Apartments". This downward trend was also observed in the prices of "(PVC) Pipes", which declined by 16.7 percent, "Construction labour" by 14.6 percent, "Wires for Small Buildings" by 12.8 percent and "Power cables" by 9.0 percent. However, the average prices of "Diesel" and "Sanitary Ware- Bathroom Set with Accessories" remained stable in April 2012, compared with the same period in 2011. On the other hand a range of other groups showed an increase in average prices during April 2012 as compared with April 2011. These include "Aggregates and Sand", the price of which advanced by 29.4 percent, "Cement" by 13.5 percent and "Transport Equipment" by 8.4 percent.

SCAD's report monitors the prices of 21 groups of building materials SCAD's monthly report of building materials prices report surveys the prices of 21 groups of commodities and services that represent the most important materials used in the construction activity, including cement, aggregate, sand, wood, steel, concrete, cement blocks, etc. SCAD has published this report since 2008. The report data are collected by the Centre's field staff on a monthly basis, in line with the directives of the emirate's leadership for the development of economic sectors and support of their stability in all areas of interest to decision makers, policy planners, researchers, etc.