Spain's cement market expanded by 4.2 per cent YoY in February 2017 when sales reached 910,252t, according to Oficemen, the Spanish cement association. However, exports fell by around nine per cent to 611,000t.

"We consider that this slight increase in the consumption of cement is an unexpected and punctual data, due to the volatility of the market," says Oficemen General Director, Aniceto Zaragoza. "To this we have to add with concern, that the current motor of the construction sector, the building segment, cannot by itself guarantee the recovery of the sector if it is not accompanied soon by a reactivation of public works.”

For the first two months of 2017, cement consumption rose 9.9 per cent YoY.