New Delhi: Domestic cement prices increased mere 2.7 percent in the first four months of the current fiscal as compared to a hefty 15 percent jump in the corresponding period of the previous financial year, according to an analysis by ratings agency ICRA.
The average prices in the current fiscal are higher than the last year despite some correction seen since June 2019.
“The price hikes undertaken in March-April 2019 sustained until June 2019. Even after some correction in the cement prices, they continue to remain higher in July-August 2019 on a Y-o-Y basis in the northern and western markets. We believe for the prices to increase from the current levels would have to be backed by the revival in the cement demand,” said Sabyasachi Majumdar, Senior Vice President & Group Head – Corporate Ratings, ICRA.
The domestic cement firms increased the prices in March 2019 in most of the markets on a month-on-month basis. The increased prices sustained in April and May 2019 but they declined in June 2019 in southern markets because of demand slowdown.
The cement prices are higher by 8-12 percent in Ahmedabad and Mumbai markets, by 15-20 percent in Delhi and Chandigarh markets and by 12-14 percent in Hyderabad market.
In Kolkata market, the average cement prices have remained more or less similar in the first five months of the current fiscal to that in the corresponding period last financial year.