Cemex raised prices for the building material by about three per cent in Mexico, where the company is based, construction traders said on Monday.  It is the second time the Monterrey-based company has raised prices this year. 
 
A Reuters survey of construction material distributors said Cemex’s cement prices had risen by an average of 3.3 per cent. "The price per tonne rose from 1800 pesos to 1860 pesos, while the 50kg sack went up by 3 pesos," said a vendor in Monterrey, an industrial center in northern Mexico. 

Earlier Cemex had pushed up prices six per cent in January. The company said the rises were intended to adjust prices to inflation.  Cemex reportedly only raised its prices by 1.3 per cent in 2005. Inflation rose 3.33 per cent in the same period. Inflation for 2006 is estimated at between 3.5 and 4 per cent.