Local cement manufacturers have dropped their prices by 30% due to weakening demand. Aquilino Doñé Vargas, president of the Association of Hardware Stores, said that the decline in the cost of construction materials plus the six to eight point decline in interest rates is good news for the construction industry. He expects this to spur the start of new construction which had stagnated at the start of the year when interest rates zoomed to 24-36% and inflation pushed construction material prices up.
