As the end of the year approaches, recovered paper prices on European markets are pointing overwhelmingly in one direction. In December, prices in France, the UK and Italy fell again. Prices on the German recovered paper market were trending lower as well.
With downtimes scheduled at mills, December promised to be a month of weak demand on the French recovered paper market. It thus came as no surprise that prices for the ordinary grades ticked lower once again – even though French paper and board producers' activity levels were not bad overall. The downward price trend for sorted graphic paper for deinking also continued. The higher grades of recovered paper became cheaper as well in some cases. By contrast, coloured letters were sought-after and proved to be the exception to the rule, with stable prices.
The situation on the British recovered paper market remained challenging for many businesses operating in the final month of 2024. One expert remarked that the year was ending on a sour note, with hopes of an improvement in the first quarter of 2025 virtually non-existent. Demand for finished paper was lacklustre, with paper manufacturers compelled to adjust their output to reflect cool demand. Many mills in Europe, especially those in Germany, will idle paper machines for longer than normal over Christmas. This would result in a further reduction of their output, putting pressure on recovered fibre prices in all segments.
Merchants on the Italian market had already predicted last month that December would be difficult, with slack demand, as many paper machines were set to take downtime over the Christmas and New Year holiday period. All in all, suppliers still managed to sell their ordinary recovered paper grades in December thanks to the export business, but price cuts could not be avoided.
Overall, however, suppliers were able to sell their volumes of lower grade recovered paper thanks to the export business. Nevertheless, price reductions could not be avoided. Prices for deinking grades also fell in December, especially for magazines. For the higher grades, the downward price trend continued only in isolated cases or for some grades.
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