China prices expected to rise, exceed market expectations

Cement prices in China are likely to continue rising in the second half this year and go beyond market expectations along, according to industry sources.

Cement prices in China slightly dropped 0.17 per cent after May Day holiday, but Digital Cement expects the demand for cement would grow significantly in the second half of this year with the rising investment in railways and the speeding up of social housing construction.

Although cement prices in Jiangxi and Zhejiang recently fell by CNY10-20/t, and in Hainan and Yunnan rose CNY20/t, the average cement price across the country was still about six per cent higher than that in the same period last year. In line with the supply and demand condition in the industry, it said cement prices would likely surpass market expectation, especially in Beijing, Tianjing, Hebei, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Guangdong.

Latest statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that cement output in April increased 3.9 per cent YoY to reach 226Mt. Output during January to April was 672Mt, up 4.3 per cent year on year, with the growth rate at the lowest point in 10 years.