The upward price trajectory continued on the German recovered paper market in April. Nearly all grades became more expensive again. For now, there are no signs of an impending turnaround. Market participants therefore expect recovered paper prices on the German market to climb once more in May.
The very strong demand from the paper industry continues to drive the market in Germany. Although there were concerns that mills would shut down due to high costs and energy shortages, this has only happened in scattered cases so far. The industry’s order books are still quite full and there are as yet no signs of any major drop-offs owing to inflation or the economy. Nevertheless, there are growing worries about the future. All mills are running full bore, so that should the worst-case scenario arise and natural gas supplies be interrupted, manufacturers will have enough goods to sell, explained one buyer.
As a result, demand for recovered paper is still strong, while supply remains limited. Individual market participants are reporting low recovered paper arisings due to slowing consumption, but others say volumes are mainly stable and they only saw a dip around Easter. However, a shortage of freight capacity has apparently bottlenecked deliveries to the mills. In many cases, the tours could not be completed, said several respondents.
The full report on the recovered paper market in Germany including the price changes compared to the previous month is available here ......
