Newsprint and magazine paper producers are pushing for price hikes for all deliveries effective 1 July. Buyers understand future market conditions to remain in their favour despite capacity curbs and closures at UPM, Holmen, Stora Enso and Norske Skog.
Some movement returned to the newsprint market in Italy in late May. The first paper producers announced a new round of price talks for deliveries in the second half of the year. So far, there are have been official price demands of up to 10 %, but suppliers want to discuss the more specific details directly in the talks with their customers. Further announcements are expected for the beginning of June: “The first step has been taken, there is no going back now,” a EUWID-source from Italy said.
Prices for magazine paper should also soon be heading upwards, if suppliers get their way. A first move in this regard was made by some of the leading European manufacturers at the end of May. The mark-ups demanded by producers were usually €25-40/t or 5-7% and would apply to all shipments from 1 July. Some other suppliers told EUWID they were planning to follow suit soon, but were still considering how high their price increase would be.
Buyers understand future market conditions to remain in their favour despite capacity curbs and closures at UPM, Holmen, Stora Enso and Norske Skog. Paper producers were always one step behind in reacting to demand trends, said a newspaper publisher. By the time the effect of the closures in Sweden was felt, the actual newsprint demand on the Italian market would have fallen further by a few percentage points, he added.
