Steel prices in Kuwait have surged by nearly 50% over the past 16 months due to higher global prices of main building materials during the Coronavirus pandemic, a local newspaper reported on Thursday. 

From around 170 Kuwaiti dinars ($561) in February 2020, the price of one tonne of steel in the OPEC member soared to nearly 254 dinars ($838) at the end of May 2021, the Arabic language daily Alanba said, citing a government report. 

The increase was a result of higher global prices triggered by a severe shortage of steel and other building materials after many factories were either forced to shut down or slash output during the pandemic, the report said. 

Since Kuwait is heavily reliant on imports, higher world prices directly impacted steel prices in the Gulf emirate, it added. 

“Kuwait has recorded a 50 percent increase in steel prices over the past 16 months and this has directly affected costs of construction and government projects,” the report said. 

“Kuwait has hoped prices would start to return to normal levels after the pandemic began to ease but many factories which reopened were not able to return to pre-pandemic production levels as a result of shortages in raw materials and labour.” 

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@refinitiv.com)  

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