Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft (NBSK) Pulp Price Trend Analysis 2026: Market Insights, Historical Prices, Supply Demand Analysis, Price Drivers & Latest News

• Global NBSK pulp prices remained weak during Q1’26 due to sluggish paper and packaging demand, elevated inventories, and cautious procurement activity.
• Although timber, wood chip, freight, and energy costs increased during the quarter, weak downstream consumption and cautious buying activity prevented producers from fully transferring higher upstream costs into pulp prices.
• Downstream demand from tissue paper, printing paper, and packaging board sectors stayed soft, limiting price recovery despite supply-side cost inflation and producer-led hike attempts.

The Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft pulp market witnessed a weak-to-stable pricing trend during Q1’26 as oversupply conditions and soft downstream paper consumption outweighed rising logistics and production costs. In China, NBSK pulp prices declined from ~5.55 RMB/kg (Spot) in January to ~5.27 RMB/kg (Spot) in March, while Q1’26 average prices slipped by ~0.50% from Q4’25 and recorded a ~3.86% fall between January and March. The decline was mainly driven by subdued demand from packaging paper, tissue, and fine paper manufacturers alongside cautious post-holiday procurement and sufficient imported inventories. European NBSK prices remained comparatively stable, moving from ~1.14 EUR/kg (DAP) in January to ~1.15 EUR/kg (DAP) in March, although quarterly average prices were still lower by ~0.21% from Q4’25 and down ~0.68% during the quarter due to inconsistent downstream paper demand. Meanwhile, in North America, prices eased from ~735 USD/MT (EXW) in January to ~730 USD/MT (EXW) in March, while Q1’26 average prices declined by ~0.48% quarter-on-quarter amid weak containerboard demand and balanced domestic supply. The Iran conflict and disruption in the Strait of Hormuz significantly impacted global pulp trade flows and supply chains during the quarter.