There wasn’t a huge amount of activity in the market this week, with many reporting trading was quiet across materials.
Obviously, the situation in the Red Sea is the major factor behind this, with a great deal of trading now happening monthly and the rest of the month spent on logistics.
But even trade closer to home in domestic and European markets was quiet with demand being weak.
That isn’t that unusual with February often a quieter month after the Christmas and January sales spell, and a combination of Valentines and half-term holidays next week might help with some additional arisings to trade.
Yet the markets seem very quiet and is perhaps a reflection of the uncertain economic environment being felt in many nations.
The pound dropped a cent to $1.26 but was unchanged at €1.17.
Recycled plastics
While the price of the PRN/PERN dropped by a couple of quid this week, it wasn’t enough to make a difference.
Markets are very quiet and there isn’t a huge amount of trading going on.
Partly, this is because there is uncertainty over where the markets are headed. Sellers are holding out in the hope that recent increases in the virgin market will translate to the recycling market. But buyers aren’t seeming to want to buy and that could lead to a fall.
It is likely that over the coming weeks the market may become more certain and encourage a little more trade though.
Recycled paper
With most having already bought and sold for February, minds were either focused on logistics or planning ahead for March.
Shipping remains a big challenge and there are blank sailings occurring and changes to schedules. The expectation is that this will get worse before it gets better.
Where material was being traded, overall prices were largely the same as last week. However, the market bunched a bit so top and bottom prices were not so high or low as before, suggesting more of a consensus of where the market was.
Recycled metals
Non-ferrous grades saw significant drops in value this week. Copper fell by £300 per tonne and brass and aluminium by £150 per tonne. There was no change for ferrous grades though.
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
