The average price of cement nationwide fell 1.12% last week, dragged down by the price declines in Henan and Guizhou provinces. Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces had published winter cement prices last week, and Harbin Portland cement 32.5 was priced at CNY400/t (US$62.9/t).

According to Wang Xiaoliang, an analyst with Digital Cement, many cement makers had already halted production, and were waiting for cement prices to rise at the beginning of 2012 on expectations of higher demand.

The average price of cement in Guiyang fell by another CNY30/t (US$4.7/t) last week as a result of oversupply and intense competition among cement makers.

During the same period, the average price of cement in Henan province declined CNY20-30/t after price increases in recent weeks. This was attributed to weak downstream demand, and the relatively large inventory of cement producers.

Cement prices rose last week in Hefei and Chaohu in Anhui province, with prices up by about CNY20-30/t.

Shares of Anhui Conch Cement rose 4.17% to close at CNY16.98/ share today.