Indian cement prices to rise further in December

Cement prices in India are expected to rise by INR10-15/bag (US$0.12-0.18/bag) this month, according to a report by Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd. Since August this year, prices have risen by up to INR16/bag with November alone seeing them advance by INR6-7/bag. While prices remained flat in Western and Central parts of the country, they hardened in Northern, Eastern and Southern regions, reports Business Standard.

“Absorption of the price hikes will get revealed over the next few days. With the financial-year change (from December to March) by ACC and Ambuja, volume push by these companies is likely to be limited in December. This is positive for the pricing trend in the near term,” Emkay Global said. “We expect the industry's profitability to increase by more than INR200/t QoQ (even higher for Eastern region players) in 3QFY23, with improving cement prices along with peakout of operating cost in 2QFY23,” it added.