{"id":106864,"date":"2026-06-04T11:47:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T06:17:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/univest.in\/blogs-2\/?p=106864"},"modified":"2026-06-04T11:47:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T06:17:39","slug":"cement-price-hike-may-2026-petcoke-cost-inflation-june-outlook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/univest.in\/blogs-2\/cement-price-hike-may-2026-petcoke-cost-inflation-june-outlook\/","title":{"rendered":"Cement Price Hike Misses the Mark in May 2026 as Cost Inflation Intensifies: Petcoke Up USD 25 Per Tonne QoQ, June Hikes Eyed"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Cement price hike update: May hikes failed in most regions. April hikes of ~4-5% sustained. June target: Rs 10\/bag (north, central, west). Petcoke: USD 151\/t, up USD 25\/t QoQ. CRISIL: 150-160 MT capacity addition FY25-FY28. Nuvama: Neutral on sector.<\/em><\/p>\n

India’s cement price hike attempts for May 2026 missed the mark across most regions, leaving manufacturers caught between sluggish demand and rapidly escalating input costs. Despite anticipating a cement price hike in May, producers were forced to hold back in the face of weak offtake driven by labour shortages, unseasonal rainfall, and state elections in West Bengal and southern states. The April 2026 cement price hike of roughly 4 to 5 per cent across most regions has so far sustained, but the failure to layer on a second sequential increase in May means the industry is running behind on its cost recovery curve.<\/p>\n

The core problem is a widening gap between rising input costs and the industry’s ability to push through a meaningful cement price hike. Petcoke, the primary fuel used in cement kilns, has risen USD 25 per tonne quarter-on-quarter to approximately USD 151 per tonne as of late May 2026, still well below its recent peak but meaningfully higher than levels that had allowed the sector to expand EBITDA per tonne in FY26. Combined with rising polypropylene packaging costs, analysts at HDFC Securities estimate these pressures could add Rs 150 to Rs 200 per tonne to total production costs, a headwind the sector is unlikely to fully recover through a cement price hike in the near term given current demand conditions.<\/p>\n

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