March 3: At a time when the production capacity and consumption of cement and rod industries has been increasing, the price of iron rods has also gone up.  
The price of iron rods that increased by Rs 15-20 per kilogram in November has again grown by Rs 4 per kg.
However, the price of cement, another key building material, has remained unchanged.
According to rod manufacturers and sellers, the price of rods has started rising again in the last two weeks. On March 2, the average factory price of a single piece of iron rod, including VAT, has been fixed at Rs 74. They say the price could rise again.
According to an official of Laxmi Steels, the market price will be higher as transportation cost and other expenses will be added to the factory price.
He informed NBA that the price of  rods had increased to Rs 70 just 3 weeks ago.
"The price of iron rods has been increasing in Nepal, as the price of billet has increased in the international market," he informed.
Even though the price of cement and its raw material does not fluctuate much because they are produced in Nepal, billets have to be imported from India and other countries.

Although the price of iron rod has been declining for some time, now the price of billet is increasing and it may go up further, said a producer.
According to him, as the value of dollar has risen and the price of raw materials has also grown, the price of rods is expected to rise further by next week. The rod manufacturers say they paid USD 525 per tonne to import billets until February 28.
The official informed that the price of imported billets will increase more, and the price of rods will also increase in the Nepali market. Earlier, they had to pay USD 505 for a tonne of billet.
The US dollar value grew from 116 to 117.97 on March 2, and the price of iron rod is expected to rise slightly. As it is the season of construction, cement and steel rod industries have increased their production capacity between 80 to 90 percent. Use of construction materials, which had been severely affected by COVID-19, is growing along with the demand.