European biomass:spot eases,near curve firms

摘要

The European wood pellet markets showed signs of bounc-ing back this week,after a month of weak sentiment.Prices for delivered cargoes of industrial-grade pellets for the rest of this year firmed slightly,as the market recovered from the effects of last month’s shutdown at the UK’s Ironbridge power plant.But prices further out on the curve,and in the Baltic and Portuguese markets,were generally lower. Spot prices for pellets delivered into Amsterdam-Rotter-dam-Antwerp(ARA)dipped slightly week on week.There was a greater focus in the market on longer-term contracts than for prompt cargoes.Fundamentals beyond the next few months were largely unchanged since the start of Febru-ary,when Ironbridge shut down,traders said.Prices for Q4 this year bounced back above the$180/t level,for volumes delivered into ARA region,with sellers aiming to get$185/t. That narrowed a spread between Q4 and 2015 that some traders thought had become excessively wide.