Calcutta, April 23: Cement prices have crawled up to the pre-demonetisation level following successive hikes across the western, eastern and southern markets even as rates in the north have remained steady.

While manufacturers and market analysts have attributed the rise to a recovery in demand after demonetisation, real estate developers are worried about the spike in raw material costs.

Data collected by research firms suggest that average prices at the wholesale level in April has reached close to the October rates across the country. Regional trends suggest the rise is more acute in the west (Ahmedabad), east (Calcutta) and south (Hyderabad), according to data compiled by research firm Icra.

Replying to queries from The Telegraph, Icra said prices had declined in Ahmedabad by 17 per cent between October 2016 and January 2017. "With the impact of demonetisation subsiding, prices increased 6 per cent in February, 4 per cent in March and 8 per cent in April on a month-on-month basis," Icra said.

In Calcutta, prices had declined 6 per cent in December 2016 and 2 per cent in January 2017 month-on-month, while the overall decline between November and January was around 7 per cent.

"In the east, while there is increased supply from recent capacity expansion, the demand is also strong to support the increase in cement prices by 3 per cent in March and another 3 per cent in April month-on-month basis," said Icra.

Prices in the south saw the sharpest rise after a decline of 13 per cent between November and March.

"There has been a steep hike in cement prices in April 2017 by over Rs 60 per bag (27 per cent) on a month-on-month basis. This has largely been driven by supply moderation and pricing discipline. This is currently higher than that in October last year of around Rs 20 per bag," Icra said.

According to cement manufacturers, the price hike is on account of demand improving after demonetisation.

"With demand gradually recovering, we are seeing increase in prices in some markets after an unexpected fall towards the end of 2016," said a senior official of cement major Birla Corporation.