The markets for hardwood and softwood pulp continue to drift apart in Europe. While bleached hardwood kraft (BHK) pulp once again became more expensive in April and overall supply is described as tight, quotes for northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) pulp were mostly flat at the March level. Market participants attribute the diverging trends primarily to availability: Hardwood pulp is scarce in Europe right now, while softwood pulp is still abundantly available.
Most market participants agree that the current market is not being driven by strong customer demand for any pulp grade.......
