According to the monitoring of the commodity market analysis system of SunSirs, the prices of softwood pulp and hardwood pulp are still on the rise last week. On April 26th, the average market price of softwood pulp in Shandong was 6,396 RMB/ton, an increase of 0.09% compared to the average price of 6,390 RMB/ton on April 21st. On April 26th, the average market price of hardwood pulp in Shandong was 5,800 RMB/ton, an increase of 1.61% compared to the average price of 5,708 RMB/ton on April 21st.

By observing market changes, it can be seen that the spot price of wood pulp maintained an upward trend last week. The supply side news remains bullish, with some external pulp quotes continuing to rise in May. As import prices continue to rise, domestic needle and broadleaf spot prices are supported by import costs. On the other hand, due to the previous shutdown of equipment and the recovery of consumption in the European market, there is an expectation of a reduction in import volume in the future.

In March, the import of softwood pulp reached 854,000 tons, an increase of 8.9% compared to the previous month; The import of hardwood pulp was 1.203 million tons, a decrease of 16.5% compared to the previous month. The import volume of hardwood pulp has significantly decreased, and the quotation for outer hardwood pulp is still increasing. This provides support for the price of coniferous leaves despite the high price difference between coniferous and broad-leaved leaves. As of April 25, 2024, the sample inventory of mainstream pulp ports in China is 1.896 million tons, an increase of 4.5% from the previous period, and the inventory has shown a cumulative trend for three consecutive weeks.

In terms of demand, the market has shown a clear weakness, with most paper prices showing a downward trend. As downstream demand for raw paper slows down, it may drag down the high volume of pulp prices. The cultural paper market lacks improvement in trading, with paper mills mainly delivering orders in the near future. Most paper companies in the household paper market are operating normally and have sufficient supply. The terminal orders in the packaging paper market have not changed much, and downstream restocking is on demand.

In terms of futures, pulp futures prices have continued to fluctuate this week. On April 26, 2024, the opening price of the SP2409 main contract for pulp futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was 6,320 RMB/ton, the closing price was 6,330 RMB/ton, and the highest price was 6,350 RMB/ton, with a daily decline of 0.19%. The trading volume was 315,500 lots and the position was 185,178 lots.

SunSirs Wood Pulp Analysts believe that the current domestic spot price of wood pulp remains at a high level due to the continuous rise in foreign market quotations. However, from the perspective of the impact of demand on prices, the bearish sentiment is also increasing, and the contradiction between supply and demand may further expand. It is expected that the spot price of wood pulp will continue to fluctuate widely in the short term.

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