Prices for ordinary recovered paper grades have stabilised on the Italian market in May after edging higher in recent months. Prices did not increase any further due to weak demand but did not decrease, either, because of scant supply. High recovered paper grades did become quite a bit cheaper in May. There was hardly any demand for deinking grades at all, but prices for these grades were already low so they softened in only some instances.
After having held steady at a high level for a long time, prices for high recovered paper grades encountered a significant decrease on the Italian market in May. Coming on the heels of the first small markdowns in April, prices for white letters (3.05), white newsprint (3.14) and white woodfree shavings (3.18) dropped in May, sometimes falling more depending on the previous level.
Several contacts told EUWID that buyers from the tissue industry had exerted considerable pressure. For one thing, demand had slowed. For another, pulp prices had plunged, which was encouraging buyers to substitute recovered paper with fresh fibre, insiders said. Suppliers had more material in their warehouses as a result, even though not much was being collected.
On the other hand, insiders reported fairly balanced supply and demand for ordinary recovered paper grades in May. Prices for mixed paper and board (1.02), supermarket paper and board (1.04) and old corrugated containers (OCC; 1.05) stayed at April’s level. Demand from Italian paper mills was subdued, and exports to the Far East also declined....
