Cement to cost Rs 12 more from today

Subhadip Sircar

Mumbai, Aug 26: CEMENT manufacturers have joined hands again to hike cement prices by around Rs 12-13 per bag. This hike would be effective from August 27. With this round of price increase, retail cement prices in Mumbai would be around the Rs 175-180 mark.

According to a senior official of a leading cement company, the hike is primarily to bring back prices, which had fallen over the last two weeks, to earlier levels. Cement manufacturers are basically rolling back the discounts they had been offering to the dealers, he added. Post-price increase, the dealer prices in Mumbai for leading brands like ACC would be around the Rs 168 mark.

According to an industry official, the new round of price increase is expected to be sustained on the back of better demand. With monsoon tapering and the demand from sights increasing, the industry is expecting a demand spurt. Analysts point out that demand in the western region, particularly Maharashtra, traditionally picks up after the Ganapati festival. The slide in cement prices over the past two weeks has also resulted in the major cement scrips taking a beating at the bourses. With the exception of Gujarat Ambuja, all cement majors have registered substantial decline in scrip prices at the BSE. ACC closed the day at Rs 136.55 on August 24, which was marginally lower than its previous close of Rs 136.85.

Grasim Industries and Larsen & Toubro (L&T), however, lost heavily. The Grasim scrip closed at Rs 282.70, a substantial drop of 3.43 per cent over Thursday’s close of Rs 292.75.