(LiveMint)
Cement prices are slowly inching up on an all-India basis. They increased by Rs5/bag month-on-month in May to Rs331/bag, on the back of a Rs4 increase in April, showed a recent dealer check by Kotak Institutional Equities. One cement bag weighs 50kg.
Prices of the building material rose more than Rs10/bag in west and south India, were flat in east, but declined by Rs3/bag in the north and central markets in May. While cement prices in central India did see some improvement in April, the downward trend continues in the north. As the chart alongside shows, prices have fallen nearly 10% in the past year in the region.
Within the region, the correction was the steepest in Himachal Pradesh (Rs10/bag). Prices in Delhi and Haryana were down by Rs5-7/bag, while they remained flat in Rajasthan, showed the dealers’ survey.Clearly, overall demand is not strong enough to sustain prices, which is particularly disappointing for the Street, given that this is traditionally a strong construction season. That, coupled with an aggressive ramp-up of capacities by major cement producers has added to the pressure on prices in the north.
