The market update for India in January 2021, with focus on construction sector, is as follows.

Production of Crude Steel

  • Production of Crude Steel has been steadily increasing in the second half of 2020. It reached 9.796 million tonnes in December 2020, an increase of 15.5% from August 2020.
  • Prices of TMT rebars continued their upward trend since October 2020. In January 2021, average prices reached Rs. 74,133 per ton.

Cement prices

  • Cement prices were steady in January 2021 at Rs. 422 per bag. They have been in a close range since October 2020.
  • With economies recovering and supply being reduced by major suppliers, Crude Oil prices touched USD 54.77 per barrel in January 2021. This is an increase of 36.3% from the prices in October 2020.

Share market indices

  • Share market indices fell in January 2021 by ~ 3% on account of profit booking, after a strong bull run from September to December of 2020.

Consumer Confidence Index

  • After bottoming out in September 2020, Consumer Confidence Index of RBI has risen by over 11% to 55.5 in January 2020. This indicates better sentiment among public about economic prospects, post the reopening of economic activities in 2020.