he Construction Price Index which stood at 132.6 in the first quarter of 2023 increased by 0.2% to reach 132.9 in the second quarter of 2023.
During the second quarter of 2023, increases were noted in the “Hire of Plant » (0.3%) and “Materials » (0.3%) sub-indices.
The increase of 0.3% in the “Materials » sub-index was mainly due to:
(i) increases in the prices of hardcore (3.3%), aggregate (3.2%), premixed mortar (1.2%) and tiles and granite (0.8%), partly offset by decreases in the prices of cement (-0.3%), steel bars (-0.4%) and timber carpentry (-4.7%) in April 2023;
(ii) increase in the prices of premixed mortar (0.6%), almost offset by a decrease in the prices of timber carpentry (-0.8%) in May 2023; and
(iii) decreases in the prices of steel bars (-0.5%) and timber carpentry (-3.9%), partly offset by increases in the prices of cement (0.4%) and tiles and granite (1.2%) in June 2023.
