Recycling prices and market commentary: 5 May 2023

0
150
Recycled paper pulp

After the panic of last week, the market took the four days of this week to reflect on what had happened and try to plan.

While there were also changes in the PRN/PERN prices, these were not as dramatic as the week before, and so physical prices didn’t respond as much either, especially in paper and cardboard that had been hit hard the week before.

Advertisement

With another short week next week, the view of the market is that next week will be quiet in terms of trading volumes like this week has been. However, two long weekends in a row brings hope that arisings of material into facilities will pick up over the next couple of weeks.

The pound gained on the dollar to reach $1.25 at the time of writing, compared to $1.24 last Friday. The euro was back to €1.14 after dropping to €1.09 in the previous week.

Recycled plastics

There wasn’t really any price movement at all this week as all grades are pretty stable at the moment.

Although the PRN/PERN came down a touch, trading didn’t really see much trade in value despite this.

However, there are some underlying signs of weakness in the prime market that some recyclers hope will have an impact on the recycling market. But there is also the possibility that demand might improve as the year goes on for both virgin and recycled plastics depending on global economic performance.

Recycled paper

Last week’s panic continued to hurt the paper and cardboard market as people tried to make judgments on both the physical price and the PRN/PERN price.

Trading was subdued as a result, partly because there wasn’t much to trade as has been usual recently, but also because many businesses had taken a hit on the previously high PRN/PERN prices.

OCC dropped by about £5 per tonne as a result of the decreasing price of the compliance certificate, but mixed and other grades remained stable due to having less or no impact from the PRN/PERN/

Recycled metals

Copper dropped by £50 per tonne, and brass by £100 per tonne. Proportionally, the fall by £25 per tonne for ferrous grades was huge, and exacerbates the falls seen in recent weeks.

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