BRUSSELS, Aug. 27, 2001 (paperloop.com) - The lowest spot prices have all but disappeared from the European market, although there is little buying activity at all as the vacation season shifts from northern to southern Europe. Unsolicited spot offers are a reducing feature of European pulp buyers' lives.
Pulpex futures prices have crept up in the past two weeks. When Pulpex prices move away from spot prices, this tends to indicate the direction to be expected for spot price movement. Certain short fiber producers from South America are reported to have abandoned the Italian market temporarily as price demands in the country have hit lows that these suppliers are not prepared to entertain.