Steel price rises expected to slow

Steel price rises are expected to slow next year according to the British Constructional Steelwork Association (BCSA).

The trade body expects prices to rise by 5% over the forthcoming year, after heavy demand from the emerging Chinese economy pushed prices up over the last 12 months.

BCSA director general Derek Tordoff told CJ: “Looking at the comments from steel makers around the world, our deduction is there’s going to be much greater stability.”

Prices have risen over 30% for fabricators over the last year. Tordoff said: “If we were to look back 18 months ago we would see 5% was a lot.”

However, Tordoff added the last time prices reached current levels was 15 years ago. “They haven’t kept pace with inflation, they dipped tremendously.”

The association added it did not anticipate any problems with steel supplies or fabrication capacity.