Despite ongoing geopolitical crises, the paper sector has seen a relatively flat and stable month.
There have been some minor decreases across the board, but the only notable change has been to news and pams.
Domestically, the grade has decreased by £8 on the top end – equating to a new midpoint of £83.5, down £4 from £87.5 in February. This is due to the only major offtaker of the material in the UK reducing their prices across the board.
On the export side, news and pams decreased by £5 on the top end.
War in the Middle East
The sector is yet to feel the real effects of the war in the Middle East.
Shipping companies have warned that surcharges will soon be applied with these reportedly ranging from $100 to $400 per container. The effects of this will likely hit in April.
At the same time, some of the decreases this month can be attributed to the rise in fuel costs.
UK haulage costs have increased by around 4%, while Europe has seen them rise by as much as 9%.
There have also been reports that European mills are considering further downtime due to the skyrocketing costs of energy.
Overall, not much volume has moved this month as the sector pauses to see the true effects of the situation in Iran and globally.
View our more detailed paper price index here.
NB: From January 2026, letsrecycle.com has introduced a new paper grade between Mixed Paper and OCC called “1.04”. This refers to OCC with a mix of 70/30 up to 80/20. This category was introduced to better define and separate out the current OCC and mixed paper grades.
Under export pricing, the “standard quality” and “high grade” OCC categories have also been removed. The full range will remain. Those using these categories should consult the EN 643 guidelines.
