Recycling prices and market commentary: 16 September 2022

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There are a lot of people hoping for the best, but fearing for the worst in the UK and global recycling market at the moment.

In the recovered fibre and plastics market, prices are starting to come down, but nobody feels confident in predicting where the floor will be. Part of the problem is that there doesn’t seem to be strong demand from domestic, European and deep sea buyers.

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The global economy is looking weak, and that is leading to very low confidence in the pricing outlook over the coming months.

However, for paper and plastics, the PRN/PERN is providing some support and many are waiting eagerly for next week’s quarterly data from the NPWD.

The dollar was trading at $1.13 against the pound compared to $1.16 last week. The euro was at €1.14 from €1.15 a week ago.

Recycled plastic

The prices of virgin plastics are coming down and there is reduced demand for recycled plastic grades.

Bottle grades held up thanks to the extra PRN/PERN support with the price of that up by another £10 on last week.

That wasn’t enough for LDPE film though, with prices dropping sharply by about £30 per tonne. While there was some European buying going on at low levels, UK, Turkey and Malaysia were inactive on the whole.

In fact, it is also being reported that there is some de-stocking going on and this is hitting demand.

Forecast prices

1-week4-week
PET644-650644-650
HDPE934-940934-940
LDPE 98/2625-631620-626

Recycled paper

Markets are getting fearful of very low prices with very few orders coming through this week.

Often, one market will be around mopping up fibre when prices are low, but nowhere seems particularly keen to come in. This could be down to waiting to see where the market settle, but equally there doesn’t seem to be a lot of need to buy fibre at the moment.

Where material was trading, OCC was a fiver or so down on last week, partly due to the PRN/PERN price coming off a bit.

Mixed just isn’t getting the interest, especially from the previously dominant Germany and prices are coming off. Some are predicting we could get to a gate fee scenario again before long for this grade.

US prices have also come off quite a bit, making them more interesting where there are orders from India and South East Asia.

Everyone is looking for trading at the end of this month for October as that will set the tone for the rest of the year. Most expect prices to be much lower.

Forecast prices

1-week4-week
OCC104-108100-104
ONP192-196191-195
Mixed40-4437-41

Recycled metals

Copper and brass were both up by £150 per tonne. Ferrous grades dropped by about £30 per tonne.

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