Cement stocks are leading the declines in Hong Kong trading. As of press time, CNBM (03323) fell 6.53% to HK$4.87. CONCH CEMENT (00914) dropped 6.03% to HK$20.90. WESTCHINACEMENT (02233) decreased by 5.05% to HK$2.07. CR BLDG MAT TEC (01313) declined 4.29% to HK$1.56.

In late March, widespread rainy weather slowed the recovery of domestic cement demand. According to Digital Cement Network, the national average terminal price for cement including tax was 339 yuan per ton on March 20, representing a sequential increase of 2.33 yuan per ton but a significant year-on-year decrease of 56.50 yuan per ton. The national cement shipment rate was 31.53%, up 6.87 percentage points sequentially but down 13.20 percentage points year-on-year.

With cement prices in some regions having fallen to their lower ranges, prices are expected to maintain a pattern of slight fluctuations and adjustments in the near future. Guosheng Securities pointed out that the structural characteristic of "strong infrastructure, weak real estate" in the cement market remained prominent this week. On the infrastructure side, direct supply volumes to infrastructure projects nearly doubled week-over-week, serving as the core support for the cement market's recovery. In contrast, the real estate market and the closely related ready-mix concrete plant segment continued to perform weakly, acting as the primary factor dragging down the overall year-on-year shipment volume compared to the Lunar New Year period, with funding constraints remaining the core obstacle. Demand in the residential market continued to show divergence, featuring both proactive inventory building in anticipation of price increases and cautious观望 due to weather conditions and sluggish demand.