Please note, due to the two bank holidays in the UK next week, there will not be a report or pricing information. These will next be updated on 10 June.
There was a description that this was a week of panic buying, but whether that is true or not, there were some certainly some exceptional paper and plastic prices in the market.
For plastics, packaging grades kept increasing driven by the rising PRN/PERN, plus strong demand and low supply.
It was a similar situation in paper, but it was also a tale of some sitting out and some prepared to pay to get material.
Metals was a bit different though, with prices either stable or falling.
The pound was slightly stronger against the dollar at $1.26 from $1.24 last week. For the euro, the pound hovered around €1.17 for the week.
Recycled plastics
There was very strong demand for plastic packaging grades from many UK and European sources this week.
This seemed to be driven by the rising PRN/PERN, but also a view that prices could go higher, so buyers want to snap up as much as they can now.
PET, HDPE and LDPE grades all saw big price rises as a result.
While reprocessors are trying to talk the price down as much as possible, it just doesn’t seem to be happening and prices keep rising.
There must be a ceiling in the market, especially the price that will be paid by manufacturers for finished product, but that doesn’t seem to have been reached yet.
Forecast prices
| 1-week | 4-week | |
| PET | 760-766 | 778-784 |
| HDPE | 1004-1010 | 1020-1026 |
| LDPE 98/2 | 730-736 | 740-746 |
Recycled paper
As pointed out by Colin Clarke in his article this week, there are two markets at the moment.
In effect, trading this week was dominated by those who were active and paying high prices, and then there was those not involved and wondering why such high prices are being paid.
Certainly, there is an element of the high-ish PRN/PERN price, cheap shipping and low FX helping to stoke demand from some. When combined with low arisings, those that want the material appear prepared to pay.
But with such low generation, you have to get your prices right or miss out, which is why some are going high to make sure they secure material.
Forecast prices
| 1-week | 4-week | |
| OCC | 170-174 | 168-172 |
| ONP | 158-162 | 158-162 |
| Mixed | 135-139 | 135-139 |
Recycled metals
Copper grades fell by £100, and aluminium by £50 this week.
Recycling prices
For recycled paper prices, click here
For recycled plastic prices, click here
For recycled metal prices, click here
For recycled glass prices, click here
For PRN/PERN prices, click here
