China construction material prices: cement up 1.8% in mid-October 2026
China's statistics bureau reported bulk cement 1.8% dearer and aluminium 2.7% cheaper in mid-October, splitting building costs between structure and finish.
The facts
- The National Bureau of Statistics of China priced bulk P.O 42.5 cement at CNY 267.0 a tonne in mid-October 2026, +1.8% against late September.
- Rebar was CNY 3,187.8 a tonne, up 0.4%, and wire rod CNY 3,386.9, up 0.5%.
- Flat steel went the other way: medium plate CNY 3,509.9, down 0.8%, and hot-rolled coil CNY 3,268.1, down 0.9%.
- Float glass fell 2.0% to CNY 1,078.1 a tonne and A00 aluminium ingot 2.7% to CNY 23,570.0.
- Across the whole survey, 22 product prices rose, 25 fell and 3 were unchanged between mid-October and late September.
- The series is compiled for the bureau by its statistical information service centre with a commodity price information provider, and covers wholesale prices in circulation, not retail or project tender prices.
What it means for your money
- Structural inputs got dearer and finishing inputs cheaper. Cement led the rise, aluminium the fall.
- A buyer pricing new stock starts from the level already in the market: Glopra's data puts China's national average at USD 4,636 per square metre, so a two-week input move of this size barely registers against it.
- If you already hold property in China, this release does not touch your rent or your tax. It prices the materials going into competing new supply, and Glopra records total transaction costs there at 10.6% of price, which is the larger number in any resale decision.
What to watch
- The comparison here is mid-October against late September, so the next ten-day reading is the near-term check on whether cement keeps rising.
- Steel moved both ways inside one release — long products up, flat products down — so a single "steel price" reading would mislead.
- These are wholesale prices for materials in circulation. They are not a house-price or construction-cost index, and the release carries no housing figures.
Sources: National Bureau of Statistics of China https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/zxfb/202610/t20261023_1965679.html