Some wood pulp producers have given notice of price rises in Europe and China in the hope of reversing a slide in the forest-products market since mid-2011.
Finland’s Stora Enso told customers this week that it planned to raise its price for northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) pulp by $30 a tonne to $850 in Europe and $670 in China. Chile’s Celulosa Arauco had also notified Chinese customers of a price increase, an analyst said on Wednesday.
The increases stem from confidence that demand in China is picking up and that European customers will restock after the Christmas break. The moves come just three weeks after North American producers lowered the benchmark NBSK price from $920 to $890 a tonne, extending a slide that began last June when the price stood at a record $1,040.