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Enron Mail |
San Francisco, Oct. 18, 2001 (Forestweb) - Weyerhaeuser Co. will increase t=
he U.S. price of its northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) price by $20/t= onne to $500/tonne effective Nov. 1, according to a buyer source. Another b= uyer source said Weyerhaeuser has increased his price by $20/tonne on the s= awdust pulp that he buys, "and I assume on the others." Weyerhaeuser offici= als were not available for comment. Weyerhaeuser has been the lone holdout = at the U.S. price of $480/tonne for Oct. 1, when other North American produ= cers went to $500/tonne. The competitors have complained that Weyerhaeuser'= s price was a drag on their efforts. Producers and buyers alike have said t= hat $500/tonne has been a hard sell in October, partly because of the marke= t, but also because demand has been so slow. A number of sources say NBSK i= s at $480/tonne for October, though a few are paying the $500/tonne price. = "I don't think we will pay $500 (in November)," a buyer said today. "I thin= k it will be $490." An agent today described the Weyerhaeuser news as "a pl= us," but added, "Now all we need is for demand to pick up." Another agent a= lso responded cautiously. "There is no indication anywhere in the world whe= re demand has picked up, certainly not in the paper business. Without that,= (producers) can announce what they want to, but it is not a slam dunk," he= said. As for October transaction , aid that in most cases, they didn't mov= e. "I know everyone needs (price increases) and I know the inventories have= gone down, but my feeling is they will go up again," he said, noting typic= al late-fall patterns. said that in contrast to the past, paper companies = have not been able to make money off of low prices. "It's going to be a bat= tle, for sure," he said. "There's a lot of fighting going on, a lot (of buy= ers) are saying they're not going to pay it."
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