Companies active on Italy’s paper and cartonboard markets are seeing a widespread market easing at the start of summer. The paper industry is not necessarily in a laid-back mood about what is going on since prices for natural gas, recovered paper and pulp have risen once again in June.
Suppliers and buyers described a turning point given the prevailing state of affairs in many parts of the Italian market. Demand has cooled in many areas, and much more abundant supply is making buyers upbeat. Prices are no longer on an upward trajectory and are even pointing lower in the first segments, e.g. in the corrugated case material market. For the first time in over a year, buyers can talk to their suppliers about prices again without having to dig deeper into their pockets and can put forward their own ideas when negotiating contracts.
That being said, the situation on raw material markets remains strained. Pulp and recovered paper suppliers upped their prices again in June. And rising natural gas prices are also a cause of significant concern for more than a few manufacturers. These insiders fear that paper and cartonboard prices and input costs are headed in opposite directions, which might plunge quite a few mills in financial difficulties again.
This is a free excerpt from EUWID Pulp and Paper's latest market and price report on the paper and board markets in Italy. For more info on the Italian and other key European paper and board markets go to our markets section.
