Sunday, Apr 15, 2012

Gulf News

Abu Dhabi: The average price of 12 out of 21 building materials groups reported increases in Abu Dhabi during the first quarter of 2012 compared with the corresponding period last year, Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi (SCAD) said yesterday.

The increases ranged between 0.8 per cent for sanitary ware sink stainless steel with mixer single and 21.2 per cent for aggregates and sand, Scad said in its latest monthly report on building materials.

It said during the first quarter, transport equipment increased by 18.4 per cent, paints by 11 per cent, sanitary ware bathroom set without accessories by 6.8 per cent and construction labour by 4.9 per cent from the same quarter a year earlier, adding the average price for diesel and sanitary ware bathroom set with accessories remained stable during first quartr 2012 compared with first quarter 2011.

Wires

However, the average prices of some other commodity groups declined in the first quarter compared with the same quarter last year. The prices of wires for apartments fell 15.0 per cent, PVC pipes 14.4 per cent and wires for small buildings 11.1 per cent.

Mohammad Ameen, an Abu Dhabi-based economist said: This is a reflection of increasing demand for building materials and shows the emirates real estate and construction sectors continue to be on the growth path. These two sectors are key pillars in the UAEs economic growth.

Whenever theres higher demand for building materials, prices rise. Overall, it shows that the local economy is on a sound growth path.

The Scad report also analysed the average prices of building materials during first quarter 2012 compared with fourth quarter 2011, revealing higher average prices in 2012, with increases ranging between 0.6 per cent for PVC pipes and 6.5 per cent for the sanitary ware sink stainless steel with mixer-single group.

The average prices for diesel, roofing materials, natural stone, wires for residential towers, sanitary ware bathroom set, without accessories and sanitary ware bathroom set with accessories stabilised compared with fourth quarter 2011.

However, the prices of a number of commodity group declined. These include the average prices of construction labour, which decreased nine per cent, steel 8.2 per cent, PVC pipes 6.9 per cent, wires for small buildings 6.2 per cent and wires for apartments 5.3 per cent.

Largest increase

The Scad report also revealed price changes during March 2012 compared with March 2011. These were dominated by increases in most commodity groups, with the largest rise recorded in the prices of aggregates and sand, which shot up 21.1 per cent.

Transport equipment showed the next largest rise during this comparison period, climbing 10.6 per cent. In addition, the prices of paints rose 6.7 per cent and wires for residential towers rose by 5.3 per cent in March 2012 compared with March 2011.

A range of other commodity groups showed a decline in average prices last month compared with March 2011.

These include the prices of wires for apartments, which fell 19.9 per cent, PVC pipes 14.1 per cent, wires for small buildings 13.0 per cent and power cables 7.8 per cent.

By Himendra Mohan Kumar, Staff Reporter

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