Steel prices unlikely to cool down

The price of steel products is unlikely to decline in the coming days from its current record level as the budget for the upcoming fiscal year has not offered any benefit to the sector, said a top executive.

"I don't see any possibility of steel prices going down as the cost of production has shot up," said Shahriar Jahan Rahat, deputy managing director of KSRM, a Chattogram-based steel miller.

"The cost of import has gone up as the US dollar has strengthened by about 30 per cent against the taka, while the energy and power shortage has driven up the production cost as well."

Rahat made the comments during an interview with The Daily Star as he shared his thoughts about the proposed budget for 2023-24.

According to him, energy bills account for around 15 per cent of the steel production cost.