According to the monitoring of the Commodity Market Analysis System of SunSirs, the overall price of softwood pulp showed a downward trend in February, while the price of hardwood pulp fluctuated. On February 28th, the average market price of softwood pulp in Shandong Province was 5,350 RMB/ton, a decrease of 2.13% compared to the average price on February 1st. On February 28th, the average market price of hardwood pulp in Shandong Province was 4,616.67 RMB/ton, which remained stable compared to the average price on February 1st.
On the supply side: Although logistics and market activities are almost coming to an end before the Spring Festival holiday in February, the pressure on domestic port inventory has not decreased, and the market continues to show a trend of accumulated inventory, which is at a mid to high level this year. After the Spring Festival holiday, the foreign market raised a new round of pulp prices, causing a slight rebound in the spot price of wood pulp, but the pressure of high port inventory still exists.
In terms of domestic port inventory: After the Spring Festival, the main port inventory still shows a cumulative trend. As of February 26, 2026, the sample inventory of China's mainstream pulp ports was 2.401 million tons, an increase of 9.4% compared to the previous period's cumulative inventory of 206,000 tons. The mainstream domestic port of pulp, Qingdao Port, maintains a trend of accumulating inventory. The daily average shipment speed in the port has not changed much compared to before the holiday, and the overall inventory quantity has increased at a high level; The inventory of Changshu Port continues to show a trend of high accumulation, and the shipment volume in the port has decreased compared to before the holiday, exceeding 40,000 tons.
On the demand side: Due to insufficient boost in market demand before February, the trading of imported pulp and paper market has entered a stalemate. The downstream raw paper market also performs differently due to different categories, benefiting from seasonal demand support and rising costs, and the prices of wood pulp household paper and white cardboard remain relatively strong; However, copperplate paper and wood pulp double adhesive paper are running weakly due to insufficient demand boost. With the weakening of market activity, spot prices have fluctuated downwards, and the overall focus has shifted downwards, resulting in a lack of strong unilateral driving force in the market. After the end of the holiday, the expectation of recovery brought by the sending of letters about household paper has provided an upward drive for prices, but the actual purchasing mentality is still relatively light, and the acceptance of high priced raw materials remains to be observed.
In terms of futures, the main contract price of pulp futures in February fell more than rose. As of February 27th, the main contract of sp2503 pulp futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange opened at 5,250 RMB/ton at night, closed at 5,240 RMB/ton, and reached a high of 5,272 RMB/ton, with 76,300 transactions and 255,411 positions held.
Business Society wood pulp analysts believe that after the Spring Festival holiday, the market is in a state of resuming production and work, and in the short term, it will still maintain a pattern of oversupply. The price trend needs to pay attention to the substantial release of downstream replenishment demand, and it is expected that the short-term spot price of wood pulp may maintain the current range of operation.
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