According to the Wisdom Finance app, cement stocks generally fell. As of press time, Conch Cement (00914) fell by 3.27% to HKD 18.36, China Resources Building Materials Technology (01313) fell by 2.78% to HKD 1.4, China National Building Material (03323) fell by 2.13% to HKD 2.75, and Huaxin Cement (06655) fell by 1.64% to HKD 7.82.

On the news front, downstream demand for building materials has been weak this year, with the national average cement price falling by 17.56% year-on-year from January to May 2024. Debon Securities stated that although cement prices nationwide are still rising, the upward trend has clearly slowed down due to the off-season in summer, which lacks support for price increases. On the supply side, the staggered shutdowns in northern China ended in succession this month, and some provinces are also in the final stages, but overall inventory is not under pressure. On the demand side, the southern region has received more rainfall, and demand has not shown significant improvement, mainly due to the end of middle and high school entrance exams, with most areas seeing a recovery in growth.

Huaxi Securities also pointed out that cement demand is weak and prices in eastern China have fallen by more than half in the short term. Last week, the national cement market price continued to rise by 0.9% month-on-month. The price increase areas were mainly Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan and Ningxia, with a range of 30-50 yuan/ton; the price drop areas were Jiangsu and Henan, with a range of 10-20 yuan/ton. The previous price increase in some areas of East China has already fallen by more than half.