The market update for India in August 2021, with a focus on the construction sector, is as follows.
Crude Steel production

  • Crude Steel production in India continued its steady climb with production reaching 9.8 million tons in July 2021; an increase of 18% from the low of April 2021.
  • TMT rebar retail prices in India increased marginally by 1.6% in Aug 2021 to Rs. 72,150 per ton.

cement prices

  • After the steep decline in June & July, cement prices fell further by Rs. 10 to Rs. 405 per bag in August 2021.
  • Crude Oil prices cooled from a high of USD 75.17 per barrel in July 2021 to USD 70.75 per barrel in Aug 2021. The decline was due to the spread of Delta variant of COVID-19 across the world leading to declining in demand.

Share market indices

  • Share market indices jumped significantly by ~ 9% in August 2021 to reach all-time highs, on the back of declining COVID-19 cases in India and subsequent fast economic recovery.

Consumer Confidence Index

  • The Consumer Confidence Index of the RBI decreased to 48.6, indicating that consumers still feel uncertain about the future.
  • As the Indian economy recovered, gold prices weakened, falling 1.8% to Rs. 4,689 per gram by end of August 2021.