FOEX: PIX Pellet Nordic in April holds steady from previous month at €30.63/MWh; Swedish pellet manufacturers benefiting from high wood pellet demand, even as share of new Finnish homes heated by wood pellets falls to 1%, down from 7% in 2006

Allison Oesterle

HELSINKI , May 21, 2013 (press release) – Pellet Market – The past long and cold winter is reported to have been good for pellet manufacturers in Sweden. The demand for pellets has been high and therefore even at least one pellet plant, which was closed earlier, was reopened.

More downside Nordic pellet news is that in Finland it is reported that a reduced number of single-family house builders are selecting pellets as their main heating source. The share of pellets was 7% of the new homes in 2006, while it is now only about 1%. The reasons for this might be the price of pellets, even if lower than oil, and the larger space required by the pellet storage. One reason for this could also be that the current market share of prefabricated and turnkey house deliveries have risen to over 70% and the possibilities of pellet use in those homes are very limited.

This time, the monthly euro value against the Swedish Crown went up by 1.2% from March to April. Our PIX Pellet Nordic benchmark euro value calculated with April prices ended up exactly the same as last month, i.e. at 30.63 EUR/MWh. The strengthened euro sent the index value in Swedish Crown up by 3.00 crowns, or by 1.17%, to 258.67 SEK/MWh.

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