China's building materials sector continues to slow

BEIJING -- China's building materials sector continued to slow as the property market remained sluggish despite fewer government restrictions, latest statistics from the country's top economic planner indicated.

Cement output rose 1.9 percent year on year to 2.3 billion tons in the first 11 months, pulling back 7.3 percentage points from the rate seen during the same period last year, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on its website.

Output of flat glass gained 2.4 percent, retreating 9.2 percentage points from a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the prices of cement and flat glasses dropped in November. Compared with a month earlier, the factory price of cement edged down 0.5 percent, and flat glass moved down 4.2 percent in November.

The data comes as the property sector, a major consumer of cement and flat glass, continues to cool despite the support of government policy adjustments.

New home prices in 67 out of 70 major cities reported month-on-month drops last month, earlier data showed, whereas prices in the cities of Hefei, Nanjing and Shenzhen remained flat.