Central European Buyers of Scandinavian Softwood Lumber Were Still Acting Very Cautiously

At the end of August, central European buyers of Scandinavian softwood lumber were still acting very cautiously. According to information from market players, shippers have been able to arrange hardly any contracts for the third quarter. Mostly one-month contracts are being agreed at the moment. Industrial planing works say their restraint with new contracts is due to adequate stocks of lumber. In the second quarter, quite a number of buyers had ordered more lumber than they ultimately required. For this reason, deliveries originally arranged for the second quarter were postponed to the third quarter. Delayed deliveries correspondingly remain the characteristic feature of current business. In addition to this, some buyers are holding back on purchases because they anticipate cuts in prices in September/October. Price reductions of a more substantial nature are to be avoided, however, as existing stocks will lose their value otherwise. Source: euwid-wood-products