German fine paper prices soften further in May

摘要

The longstanding slump in demand, coupled with growing imports and falling pulp prices, has resulted in prices for woodfree uncoated paper in Germany softening even further.This is even more true for coated grades, with quotes for sheets now at levels below where they were prior to the price hike at the beginning of the year. For brown kraftliner, on the other hand, it seems that the declining price trend has come to an end in May. Bolstered by good demand and full order books, prominent European producers announced price hikes of €40-50/t effective as of 1 or 15 June. In light of the expected strong sales in June, insiders expect stabilising prices will be the minimum goal, while others believe the price plans can at least be partially implemented. However, most do not expect the hikes to be fully realised. Coreboard producers also decided to take advantage of the good booking situation to increase their prices as of 1 June.