Recycling prices and market commentary: 21 October 2022

October 21, 2022

148

In contrast to the drama in Westminster this week, it was a relatively quiet recycling market.

Trading remains relatively subdued with both weak demand and weak supply at an equilibrium.

There are few who think prices are likely to rise over the coming weeks, but some hope they will stay stable, while others are more pessimistic.

Only a few grades changed in value this week, but the end of the month next week (albeit half-term for many schools will also mean some people on holiday), might bring some more activity as companies look to stock up.

Those exporting will have found it hard to work out when to fix their FX rates with the political turmoil in the UK causing the pound to fluctuate against the dollar between $1.11 and $1.14. By the time of writing, it was back down to the former level.

Compared to the euro it was a bit more stable largely at €1.15, but easing just below to €1.14 by the time this report was being written.

Recycled plastics

For now, the PRN/PERN price was relatively stable and this was also the case for demand and supply of the physical product.

Bottle grades saw no change in value this week as a result.

There is a bit less UK and European demand for LDPE film, and this caused the price to drop by a further £5 per tonne on last week. Rather than a dramatic fall, the price has been trickling down over the last few months. It is possibly worth remembering what a remarkable year it has been for pricing though, with 98/2 valued at £355 in this week in 2021 compared to £600 now.

Forecast prices

	1-week	4-week
PET	395-401	392-398
HDPE	918-924	916-922
LDPE 98/2	593-599	591-597

Recycled paper

There wasn’t a huge amount of change this week, with OCC prices unchanged on last. However, the market is expecting some change next week for November orders, but like last week, some were trying to secure material this week in the hope of fixing higher values.

While there was some talk of £100 to Asia, most of the market was around the £75 mark if they were trading, and some were even trading below that.

Mixed is really struggling in most markets with Europe again showing little interest. UK mills are also saying they’ll only take some material with no payment, although they will pay somewhere between £10 and £20 for the best stuff.

Forecast prices

	1-week	4-week
OCC	71-75	71-75
ONP	152-156	151-155
Mixed	14-18	14-18

Recycled metals

Copper dropped by £125 per tonne, and brass was down by £150. Aluminium grades lowered by £50 per tonne. However, ferrous grades added another £10.