The price of steel has risen by 42 per cent over the last year, according to data for June from Egypt's official statistics body.

The price of sand rose 13 per cent over the same June 2010 to June 2011 period making production more expensive, said the report from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) which tracks the average consumer price of major construction materials.

Steel prices in June were up 12 per cent on the previous month but the cost of timber and water supplies remained stable.