Mumbai, Aug 23 : With construction activity likely to pick up post-monsoon, cement prices are expected to recover. “We expect cement prices to recover after rains.
With the construction activity expected to pick up post monsoon, demand is likely to rise,” Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) said in its monthly review here. Cement prices have declined following sluggish demand from May onwards.
Prices in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata market are down from their peak levels of March-April 2011, it said. Prices in Mumbai market were down to Rs 276 per 50 kg bag in July 2011 from Rs 283 per 50 kg bag in April.
In the Delhi market, cement prices declined to Rs 256 per 50 kg bag from the peak level of Rs 261 per 50 kg bag in April. Prices in Kolkata market have come down to Rs 247 per 50 kg bag during the month from its peak level of Rs 298 per 50 kg in March.
However, prices in the southern region are bucking this downward trend as they remained stable. Prices in Chennai and Hyderabad market remained almost stable at their peak of April 2011, in the month of July 2011.
Meanwhile, cement dispatches grew by 10.1 per cent in July 2011.
All-India cement dispatches (including ACC and Ambuja) reported strong YoY growth of 10.1 per cent. Cement demand improved YoY in all regions except for southern region in July 2011.
Industry has reported a double digit volume growth for the first time in last six months, primarily due to lower base (in July 2010, cement dispatches had declined 3.9 per cent due to heavy rains) and modest improvement in cement demand. PTI
