NBSK pulp manufacturers have announced upward price adjustments for October. However, some market participants doubt the implementation will be successful.
Starting in October, prices for softwood pulp on the European market are set to rise again for the first time in five months. The first producers have announced plans for hikes for NBSK pulp.
The targeted price adjustment for October depends on the European paper industry's response after the summer holidays. At the moment, industry experts are predicting a normal rise in demand after the summer. After a very weak August, the order volumes are starting to pick up again a bit in mid-September, EUWID was told.
Nevertheless, in the middle of September several EUWID respondents still expressed uncertainty about the chances of the price hikes being successful. "It is always more difficult to justify price increases with insufficient profitability than it is with good demand,” said one market observer. Furthermore, the industry had barely carried out any capacity cutbacks over the summer, so there continues to be a considerable oversupply, the respondent added.
⇒ This article is an excerpt from EUWID's report on the pulp market. The EUWID Price Watch Pulp for September will be published in EUWID Pulp and Paper no. 40 on 4 October.
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