PUTRAJAYA: The unit price index for steel rose by 0.1-5.1 per cent in most areas in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak between September 2025 and September 2026, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
In a statement, it said the highest increases in the unit price index for steel were observed in Perak (5.1 per cent), Johor (4.8 per cent) and Tawau (3.8 per cent).
At the same time, the unit price index for cement increased by 0.6-7.4 per cent nationwide.
"The highest increases were recorded in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan (7.4 per cent), followed by Kuching (7.0 per cent) and Miri (6.6 per cent),” DOSM said in its ‘Special Release for Building and Structural Works, September 2026’ report.
The report provides the unit price index of major building materials and the building material cost index (BCI) by building category and region.
Month-on-month (m-o-m), the unit price index of cement increased between 0.3 per cent and 1.9 per cent in September 2026 in selected areas, with the highest increase recorded in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan (1.9 per cent), followed by Kota Kinabalu and Kuching (0.3 per cent).
Conversely, the unit price index for sand had eased in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan (-0.7 per cent), Perak and Johor (-0.5 per cent).
"Meanwhile, the unit price index for steel also recorded a decrease in September 2026, with m-o-m decreases ranging from -0.2 per cent to -1.6 per cent, notably in Johor (-1.6 per cent), followed by Sibu and Miri (-1.3 per cent),” said DOSM.
DOSM said the average price of Ordinary Portland cement remained unchanged, with an average price of RM25.80 per kilogramme bag.
In addition, the average price per unit of steel, comprising mild steel round bars and Mycon 60 high tensile deformed bars, decreased by 2.4 per cent to RM3,431.90 per metric tonne (mt) in September 2026, compared with RM3,484.20/mt in August 2026.
It said BCI with steel bars by building category and region in Peninsular Malaysia decreased by 0.1-1.3 per cent.
Similarly, BCI with steel bars eased by 0.1-0.7 per cent m-o-m for all building categories in Sabah, and was also slightly lower by 0.1-0.5 per cent in Sarawak. - Bernama
