Steel millers want cap on interest, exchange rates

Steel and re-rolling millers yesterday demanded the government reduce bank interest rates and set a ceiling on the dollar exchange rate against the local currency.
The millers said the abnormal devaluation of the taka against the greenback and higher bank interest rates have already affected the prices of two basic construction materials -- steel and rod -- in the local market.
Moreover, the scarcity of dollars in the banking sector and the price hike of gas and power have affected the cost of production at the factory level, they said.
As a result, the price of rod reached Tk 70,000 to Tk 72,000 per tonne from Tk 60,000 to Tk 62,000 per tonne a month ago, the millers told reporters after a meeting with Commerce Minister GM Quader at his secretariat office.
“If the rod and steel prices go up further, the implementation of the government's annual development programme will slow down, which might affect the whole economy,” said SK Masadul Alam Masud, chairman of Bangladesh Auto Re-Rolling and Steel Mills Association.
In a statement, Quader said he would continue to support the sector so that the demand for rod and steel could be met from local production.