As expected, there was not much price movement for ordinary grades on the German recovered paper market in August. Collection volumes remained weak, while paper mills had low demand. Prices for supermarket paper and board and mixed paper seem poised to remain largely unchanged in September, too. In the northern and western regions of Germany, however, market participants report occasional slight price increases for recovered paper as export activity picks up.
By contrast, prices for medium grades, such as coloured letters and multi printing, fell further in August. Quotes for the higher grades also softened once again. Players currently hold differing views about where prices for medium and ordinary grades could be heading in September. While some market participants do not expect any further reductions in these segments and believe the trough has been reached, others expect further price cuts in the double-digit range, at least for some grades.
There has been little change in the medium-term outlook on the recovered paper market. Accordingly, most players still expect demand for recovered paper to remain weak. The paper industry is unlikely to see any improvement until next year, according to respondents. However, since arising volumes are not expected to increase either, recovered paper prices are likely to stay steady for the time being, market participants forecast.
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