Rural Infrastructure segment to drive demand

Moreover, with the monsoon coming to an end and pricing discipline improving, cement prices had rallied across regions over the last one month, barring the south.

Recent report on Cement said that it expects demand growth to accelerate in coming quarters with likely revival in demand from the rural and infrastructure segment.

Flooding in eastern states of Bihar, Orissa and Chattisgarh and sluggish demand from the infrastructure segment, particularly in Andhra Pradesh due to the Telangana agitation, are likely to have resulted in muted growth, the report said.

However, dealers had indicated an improvement in demand in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. Hi-Bond Cement opines that the reason for this would be the pre-election spending in these two states.

The report stated that with the monsoon coming to an end and pricing discipline improving, cement prices had rallied across regions over the last one month, barring the south. Moreover, dealers expect further price increases in coming weeks.