- FOEX pricing methodology: FOEX’s price indices include energy upcharges. Their definition for price is quite simply put as: “Transaction prices before customer-specific discounts or rebates.”
- Pulp prices extend gains in China, while US prices come under pressure: Suzano, Arauco and Eldorado target a USD 50/t price increase for hardwood pulp in China effective February. This is on the back of low hardwood pulp inventories in China, better operating rates for local paper producers and logistical constraints that still threaten deliveries. Last week, the BSK futures settled at USD 857/t (+USD 49/t in two weeks) for the May contract. NOREXECO pulp futures for CY 22E imply a 10-17% decline in Europe, while prices in China are expected to be stable.
- Graphic paper in the green across the board: CM and newsprint were up 5% & 7%, while UWF and CWF are up 3% & 2%, respectively. After factoring in a 30% discount to list pulp prices, the CWF/HW spread improves to EUR 97/t (UWF margin EUR 352/t). Burgo us set to increase all its graphic paper grades by up to 15% from 1 February. In North America, UFS producers (Domtar, PCA, and Mondi) intend to increase prices by 6-9% effective February. US CFS is also set to increase further as ND Paper and Sappi announced a price increase of up to 8% effective February.
- Containerboard in the green, while OCC takes a breather: Kraftliner and testliner both increased by 1% w/w, while the OCC price declined by 1% w/w.
- Further SBS price increases in North America: Sappi and WestRock have announced a 5-10% (USD 50/t) price increase effective February. In 2021, the US SBS price increased by USD 250/t.
- European sack kraft supply to tighten temporarily: BillerudKorsnäs halts production at Pietarsaari due to UPM pulp mill strike. This mill mainly produces sack kraft paper, with a capacity of 195ktpa. Recent published pricing indicates that unbleached sack kraft prices in Europe increased by 22% in 2021.
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