Cement prices shoot up in September after remaining flat in August
The highest price increases have been in the southern markets, where prices have been increased by a whopping Rs 35 per bag, followed by the eastern region with an increase of Rs 20 per bag.
Cement companies in India have hiked the prices in September after keeping the prices fairly stable during the month of August, according to a dealer check conducted by Equirus Securities.
Cement companies usually increase prices during the first of every month, and often roll back the changes when they find that there is a dip in demand.
Equirus said channel checks also suspect a partial rollback to flow in shortly.
The highest increases have been carried out in the southern markets, where prices have been increased by a whopping Rs 35 per bag, followed by the eastern region, where it has been increased by Rs 20 per bag.
The northern markets have witnessed a hike of Rs 15-20 per bag. The central and western regions of the country including Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra etc.. experienced a comparatively lesser increase in the prices to the tune of Rs 10-15 per bag, according to the dealer checks.
August trends
Meanwhile, cement prices have been flattish during August, according to a channel check from Equirus securities. This has resulted in a fall of Rs 2 per bag in the average price of cement in July-August period, compared to the first quarter (Apr-Jun).
Two regions saw prices increase in August while the other three saw price declines.
In the northern region, there has been a quarter-on-quarter increase of Rs 6 per bag in Jul-Aug, while the prices increased by Rs 3 per bag in the western region.
Coming to the declines, prices fell by Rs 3 per bag in the central region in Jul-Aug.
The southern and eastern regions of the country have seen the cement prices soften further during August, resulting in a dip of Rs 4-5 per bag. This resulted in a decrease of Rs 10-12 per bag in the Jul-Aug period (second quarter so far).
However, the demand scenario has remained robust during the month of August, mainly due to a deficit caused by the monsoons, the broker said.
According to the report, the eastern and southern regions of the country have seen less demand while the trend has remained stable in the central regions. The north and western parts of the country continue to show a healthier demand through the month of September, it added.
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