Steel prices in Saudi Arabia increased by at least 15 percent in the first quarter of 2021 and continued to rise in the second quarter after a surge in domestic demand due to an upturn in construction activity, a local newspaper said on Tuesday. 

The upsurge, caused mainly by the launch of giant projects as part of the Gulf Kingdom’s economic diversification blueprint 'Vision 2030,' is in contrast with stagnation in the construction sector in 2020 due to the spread of Coronavirus. 

“There was an increase of around 15 percent in steel prices in the Kingdom in the first quarter of this year due to continued expansion in construction projects, mainly large ones, within Vision 2030,” the Arabic language daily Almadina said, quoting Nabil Al-Halabi, sales manager at a Jeddah-based cement firm. 

The report showed steel prices rose to nearly 3,473 riyals ($926) per tonne in the first quarter of 2021 from around 3,006 riyals ($902) in the fourth quarter of 2020. 

Saudi Arabia is the largest Arab steel and cement producer, with outputs standing at around 5.7 million and 55 million tonnes respectively . 

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon) 

(anoop.menon@refinitiv.com) 

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