New Delhi, July 30 -- Asian Paints Ltd's domestic decorative volume growth of 3.9% in the June quarter (Q1FY26) is encouraging, though not exciting. The growth comes amid dull demand, made partly worse by an early monsoon and continued downtrading from premium to economy emulsions.

Consolidated revenue thus dipped 0.3% year-on-year in Q1, marking the sixth straight quarter of decline. The gap between volume and value is likely to persist a little longer. While urban demand is starting to stabilise and a favourable monsoon could support a rural recovery, management doesn't expect a sharp turnaround in the near term and is guiding for single-digit revenue growth despite a soft base. Simply put, stiff competition could prevent a sharp accel...