Scandinavia

During the second quarter, demand was high for all qualities and prices continued to increase. However, the conflict in Ukraine and its potential effect on gas supplies is causing great uncertainty in the market. At the same time, there has been a further increase in transportation costs while capacity has remained poor.

Higher interest rates, inflation and energy costs should lead to reduced consumption in the near future. This will result not only in fewer products sold but also in lower volumes of packaging encasing them.

Owing to high price levels across the board for recovered fibre, mills have been trying to move away as much as possible from the more expensive qualities, replacing them with cheaper alternatives.

Among the different grades, the second quarter brought increasing prices for OCC and mixed paper. Newsprint and graphic papers witnessed high demand and rising prices, with insulation manufacturers experiencing a severe shortage of material.