The Daily News Egypt reported that a handful of Egyptian steel companies have unexpectedly hiked prices, setting off a debate over whether the companies were acting to make up for increased manufacturing costs or whether they were seeking greater profit margins.

Some experts have argued that these price increases are part of an effort to artificially give the appearance that demand is back on the increase. That said, analysts do expect global commodity prices to recover this year after, generally speaking, they bottomed out early this year.

Mr Patrick Gaffney VP at EFG-Hermes said that “Steel prices have fallen significantly over the last nine months. But we are starting to see some stabilization due to real demand for steel in Egypt and more stable prices worldwide.”

Mr Gaffney said that “A EGP 100 increase in the price of a tonne of steel would not be significant in and of itself. But a sustained increase would likely cut off significant demand from people building their own homes that have been taking advantage of lower building material prices.”

Mr Reham ElDesoki from Belton Financial said that “From a macro standpoint we could see an increase in commodity prices across the board.”

As per report, Steel companies across Egypt have begun boosting prices by EGP 50 per tonnes to EGP 100 per tonnes a move they say reflects an increase in prices globally. Suez Steel raised its prices on last Thursday by EGP 100 per tonnes to EGP 2,500 per tonnes while Misr National Steel followed suit by bumping prices to EGP 50. The move comes at a time in which steel prices have slid precipitously and are only now showing signs of stability.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry has reportedly vowed to combat the recent artificial price hikes that some of the steel companies have implemented. Government officials announced confidence that this sort of price manipulation would have little impact on the stability of the industry.

(Sourced from thedailynewsegypt.com)