Global grey cement prices fell by 11% year-on-year, a report by CW Research has found, with a near 10% month-on-month decline in the Arabian Gulf countries.
The figures were released as part of the US-based market research firm’s Global Cement Trade Price Report (GCTPR), which assesses the monthly worldwide trade of grey cement, white cement, clinker and slag. It also looks at ex-works and effective market prices.
Globally, the trade of cement products has seen a declining trend in both volumes and prices in the third quarter of 2015. The CW report showed that trade prices were mostly influenced by developments in foreign exchange rates, with many currencies depreciating sharply against the US dollar.
The slow progress of the global economy means that worldwide cement prices are projected to decline by about 2.7% in 2015.
In addition, the report’s monthly price assessment sees similar downward movement for clinker, with the month of December seeing Arabian Gulf prices for bulk ordinary clinker FOB significantly decrease by more than 15% MoM.
Most notably, the quantity of traded grey cement fell by 0.5% in the second quarter of the year, compared to the same period last year. Exports of grey cement fell marginally in volume terms, while the global outlook for export pricing remained mixed, highly dependent on foreign exchange rate developments, the report showed.
The major grey cement exporters in the second quarter of 2015 were China and Thailand, which accounted for 15% and 14% of total global grey cement exports.
The December update also highlighted the solidifying of Iran’s positioning as a key trader, although the main export market, Iraq, remains affected by instability and expects lower cement consumption volumes for the following months.
“Traders did not have high hopes for pricing to improve in December, so this month’s pricing for OPC cement and clinker came as no surprise for both manufacturers and traders. On the other hand, the downward spiral of shipping rates we saw last month is now more contained, so importers of cement and clinker will see more stabilized CFR and CIF pricing,” explains Raluca Cercel, consulting analyst with the CW Group’s European team.