NEWSPRINT market

Newsprint prices continue to slide. June ' prices down $15/mton to $585. April consumption at US dailies remained weak, falling 9.8% this year, together with weak advertising revenues. The Canadian dollar at a 30 year high is hurting imports from Canada into USA. Catalyst Paper Mill announced that it’s shutting a 134,000-tpy directory machine at
Port Alberni, BC. Even more striking, Kruger has announced plans for market downtime at several mills. Most players appear to waiting for Abitibi and Bowater deal to resolve before making capacity decisions.