EUWID sources say a few paper mills are still offering paper at cheap prices to avoid loosing business.
Woodfree uncoated (WFU) paper manufacturers were still trying to secure higher selling prices in the UK in September. A few producers had attempted to raise prices for August deliveries, and agreements had reportedly been struck featuring higher prices in recent weeks. All told, comments about the state of talks are very different; the only certainty appears to be that universal price hikes had not emerged, at least not yet in September.
Sources said that one of the main reasons is that a few paper producers had ultimately caved and offered paper at unchanged conditions to avoid losing business. Renewed attempts had been made and talks held about prices climbing from 1 October, insiders reported. A clear picture had not appeared yet.
The paper industry described demand as normal to rather weak in the UK. Quite a few buyers confirmed these remarks; otherwise, the market is roughly in line with expectations. More recent estimates indicate that apparent cut-size consumption declined by about 5% in the UK during the twelve months to August.
