U.K. coated woodfree paper prices down about £20/tonne in March compared with the beginning of 2012 due to weaker demand, strong pound Sterling, pricing policies, say sources; one producer to idle 20,000 tonnes over Easter holidays
Sandy Yang
LOS ANGELES
,
March 23, 2012
(Industry Intelligence)
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Coated woodfree paper prices in the U.K. are down in March due to weak demand, a relatively strong pound Sterling and producers’ pricing policies, according to sources, reported EUWID-Paper on March 23.
Coated prices are about £20 (US$32) per tonne lower than they were at the beginning of this year, nearly all sources confirmed.
Prices began to weaken in February. At first, the decline was in large sheets and then reel prices also deteriorated but still remained more stable. Without price concessions, suppliers expected to lose orders to competitors, EUWID-Paper reported.
Lower prices were “unavoidable,” as the strong pound has given producers “a much more relaxed approach to pricing,” said one market insider. One company is currently trying to recapture market share by offering low prices.
Order lead times have decreased over the past few weeks to just two to three weeks now. One producer aims to try to shore up the market by shutting down about 20,000 tonnes of paper capacity over the Easter holidays, reported EUWID-Paper.
The primary source of this article is EUWID-Paper, Gernsbach, Germany, on March 23, 2012.
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