European pulp consumption climbs, inventories declines

Pulp consumption in Europe increased in May to 1,023,367 tons from from 966,047 tons the previous month. The May figure was down 2.7 percent compared to May 2011.Utipulp's statistics include information from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the UK for sulfite and kraft pulps.Pulp inventories at European ports declined in May after an increase in April, according to Europulp. Inventories totaled 1,017,951 tons in May.European shipments of newsprint and mechanical paper decreased in May, according to figuers from the European Association of Graphic Paper Producers. Total shipments of newsprint stood at 871,000 tons in May, four percent lower than the same period last year. In the SC segment, total shipments decreased by 2.9 percent in May.