Prices for white woodfree envelope paper 80 g softened at the start of the year in Germany and are now selling up to 5% cheaper than in the closing quarter of 2014.
After showing first signs of weakening in December, prices for 80 g white woodfree envelope paper softened in the course of the first quarter. Depending on the starting point, prices were reportedly reduced by up to 5% against the last quarter of 2014.
However, market participants believed that those low prices would not stick around for long. EUWID sources indicated that manufacturers intended to hike their prices by approximately €30/t as of May at the latest, in order to compensate for rising pulp costs..
The recycled envelope and shipping bag segment is characterised by stability. December prices were rolled over into the first quarter of 2015 and will reportedly continue to apply also in the second quarter of the year.
Comments of envelope and shipping bag paper manufacturers on business development on the German market and deliveries in the first quarter of 2015 varied widely. While some producers reported a good start in the new year, quoting healthy demand and full order books, some other claimed that the market was only "trundling alone" in the first quarter and called for commercial downtime to match supply to demand and improve manufacturers' position in a weakening market.
