Construction contractors must have taken a sigh of relief as prices of popular cement brands such as Ha Tien 1 and Holcim have begun falling after a rally for almost half a year in a row. Cement was down by VND3000-VND5000 per 50kg bag in HCMC on Tuesday.

Nguyen Thanh Van, director of HALA Company, which produces precast concrete in HCMC’s Tan Binh District, said his company was buying cement at lower prices than last week, and cement was not as scarce as last week. “Ha Tien 1 costs some VND84,000 and Holcim Cement around VND80,000 a 50kg bag. These prices are considerably lower than early last week, Nguyen Thanh  Van told the Daily. He, however, said the prices are still higher than late last year, and that it was difficult for his company to buy large volumes of cement at retail outlets in the city.