The market update for India in August 2020, with focus on construction sector, is as follows.

Crude steel production

  • Crude steel production inched up by 3.6% month-on-month to 7,150 tons in July 2020. The production level is still lower by 17.2% from March 2020.
  • TMT rebar prices continued their declining trend from the previous month in August 2020, ending at Rs. 56,325 per ton.

Cement prices

  • Cement prices increased marginally to Rs. 420 per bag in July 2020.
  • Crude oil prices stabilized in August 2020 at USD 44.74 per barrel, an increase of USD 1.5 per barrel from the previous month.

Share market indices

  • Share market indices were buoyant in August 2020, with both the Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex increasing by ~ 2.8%.

Consumer Confidence Index

  • On the back of Covid-19 pandemic, Consumer Confidence Index of RBI hit an all time low in July 2020 at 53.8.