Massive surplus capacity on the market for coated woodfree paper fuelled a fall in prices in the UK during October and November.
As EUWID sources reported in mid-November, major suppliers of these grades had been offering paper at very cheap prices for quite some time now. At the end of October, these spot offers had apparently triggered a universal reduction in prices, which even smaller suppliers had to swallow. A few EUWID sources were also convinced that prices would decline again towards the year's end. However, the euro-pound exchange rate is still tipped to favour the British currency at £1 = €1.25, allowing relatively lucrative business for Eurozone manufacturers.
Although coated woodfree paper prices in the UK are now rather low, market players in the UK do not anticipate any upswing in prices in the foreseeable future. One manufacturer had recently announced plans to charge more for all of its coated reels and sheets throughout Europe, another communicated plans to increase prices for its entire graphic paper range.
Moreover, paper buyers in the UK stressed that supply was plentiful. Manufacturers are in a bitter struggle for market share and underbidding one another. "They are ruining all suppliers' profitability," one EUWID source complained.
⇒ This article is an excerpt from EUWID's monthly report on the UK paper market. The EUWID Price Watch UK for November is being published in EUWID Pulp and Paper no. 47 on 21 November.
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