Indonesian demand poised for recovery

Indonesian cement demand is poised to pick up following a 25 per cent YoY decline last month, analysts at CIMB have said.

The bank says July's unusually weak figures were due to a combination of the presidential election and Eid celebrations. Despite the weak figures, CIMB says July 2014 demand was actually higher than August 2013, the time of Eid last year, suggesting that the sector is stronger than originally thought.

The Indonesia Cement Association (ASI) is also confident of a revival in demand, with its chairman, Widodo Santoso, saying he expects sales to expand over the next five months as infrastructure investment rises.