According to the monitoring of the commodity market analysis system of SunSirs, the prices of softwood pulp and hardwood pulp continued to decline last week. On December 8th, the average market price of softwood pulp in Shandong was 5,720 RMB/ton, a decrease of 4.19% compared to the average price of 5,970 RMB/ton on December 1st. On December 8th, the average market price of hardwood pulp in Shandong was 5,050 RMB/ton, a decrease of 4.72% compared to the average price of 5,300 RMB/ton on December 1st.
By observing market changes, it can be seen that the spot prices of softwood pulp and hardwood pulp were still in a downward trend last week, and the futures prices of pulp continued to decline, with prices rebounding towards the weekend. In terms of supply, the external quotation for pulp in December remained stable, with limited support for the domestic market. The supply side of pulp has returned to normal levels, and the high inventory levels of major international pulp producing countries and Europe have fallen, indicating that the supply and demand structure overseas is gradually improving. However, the import volume of domestic pulp is still high, causing supply pressure in the domestic market.
In terms of demand, downstream paper mills have a strong willingness to raise prices and continue to issue price increase letters. However, with the weakening of finished paper production and sales, market shipping pressure has increased, and the enthusiasm of paper mills to start production has declined, resulting in a weak willingness to purchase raw materials and a slowdown in the speed of port pulp shipments. In addition, there is insufficient follow-up on orders in the terminal market, resulting in poor purchasing sentiment and limited support for pulp prices.
In terms of futures, on December 8th, the opening price of the SP2401 pulp futures contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was 5,528 RMB/ton, the highest price was 5,736 RMB/ton, and the closing price was 5,736 RMB/ton, with a daily increase of 5.99%. The trading volume was 358,900 lots, and the position was 116,149 lots.
The prices of downstream white cardboard and gray background white cardboard have remained stable. On December 8th, the average market price of white cardboard 230g-400g was 5,240 RMB/ton, while the average market price of gray background white cardboard 250g was 4,165.67 RMB/ton. At present, the shipment of white cardboard and gray background whiteboard in the market has slowed down, and the overall enthusiasm of traders to place orders has significantly declined. Some enterprises have shown an increasing trend in inventory. However, traders have increased their risk aversion by reducing inventory, and the year-end is at the completion point of the annual task volume. It is not ruled out that there may be a possibility of price reductions and profit concessions in the future. Currently, supported by market price hikes, businesses are mainly wait-and-see for the time being.
SunSirs Wood Pulp Analysts believe that the current import volume of pulp market is still at a high level, but due to weak market demand, the spot price of wood pulp is under pressure. In addition, the appreciation of the RMB has led to a decrease in the cost of pulp imports, and it is expected that the spot price of wood pulp will remain fluctuating and consolidating in the short term.
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