According to a new Fitch Ratings report, the 2017 Latin American cement outlook for both ratings and the sector is stable.
Associate Director at Fitch Ratings, Gilberto Gonzalez: “Issuers have built significant operations in the US, which should benefit from increased public and private spending… Housing starts should increase seven per cent to 1.26m, which should provide an additional boost.”
For Argentina cement consumption is forecast grow in the mid-single digits, recovering some of the lost ground from 2016. For Colombia cement demand is expected to grow in the low-single digits in 2017, which will mainly be supported by the start of fourth-generation highway development projects. In Peru cement fundamentals remain strong following open-market policies which are aiding the continuity of the country’s current economic momentum.
In Brazil consumption is forecast to continue deteriorating in 2017, with volumes falling in the mid-single digits. For Chile sluggish economic growth is predicted, as well as a decline in housing demand and stagnant infrastructure spending, resulting in lacklustre cement consumption. In Mexico the rising inflation expectations, a sharp depreciation of the Mexican peso, and careful corporate spending are expected to result in lower levels of self-construction activity.
