According to the monitoring of the commodity market analysis system of SunSirs, the prices of softwood pulp and hardwood pulp have both shown a state of stabilization and rebound this week. On May 15th, the average market price of softwood pulp in Shandong Province was 6,300 RMB/ton, an increase of 1.61% compared to the average price on May 11th. On May 15th, the average market price of hardwood pulp in Shandong Province was 4,200 RMB/ton, an increase of 0.8% compared to the average price on May 11th.

Supply side: Currently, the supply of imported wood pulp is relatively sufficient, and the imported goods will gradually arrive in May. The stability of domestic wood pulp production and the pressure on the supply side of the pulp market in May still exist. In addition, the downward adjustment of wood pulp outer plate quotations has resulted in weak support from the supply side.

Demand side: Currently, downstream production after the holiday is relatively positive, resulting in a slight increase in demand for wood pulp. However, paper mills mostly purchase on demand and there is no sign of large-scale procurement. But due to the continuous rise of pulp futures, it has driven up the spot price of wood pulp.

Domestic port data: After two consecutive cycles of destocking, inventory levels have shown a trend of accumulating in this cycle. As of May 15, 2025, the sample inventory of China's mainstream pulp ports was 2.198 million tons, an increase of 8.0% month on month. During this period, the inventory of pulp at the mainstream domestic port of Qingdao Port showed a trend of accumulation, with the daily average shipment speed dropping to 13,000 tons/day. The main source of goods at the port is hardwood pulp; The inventory at Changshu Port shows a trend of accumulation, with the weekly shipment quantity dropping to around 70,000 tons; The inventory levels at other ports have not changed significantly and fluctuate within the normal range.

In terms of futures: boosted by the news of the upcoming talks between China and the United States in Switzerland, confidence in the commodity market has been restored, and the prices of the main contract of pulp futures on the exchange have stopped falling and rebounded. As of May 15th, the opening price of the sp2507 main contract of pulp futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange was 5,390 RMB/ton, the closing price was 5,386 RMB/ton, and the highest price was 5,424 RMB/ton, with a daily increase of 1.01%. The trading volume was 223,300 lots, and the position was 98,667 lots.

SunSirs wood pulp analysts believe that the current improvement in supply and demand in the wood pulp market is limited, and the rise in spot market prices is mainly driven by the futures market. Therefore, whether the price can remain stable at a high level still needs to be observed, and it is expected that the short-term wood pulp price will maintain a narrow range of fluctuations.

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