Despite a low demand for pellets in Europe during the heating season 2014-2015, the average price in February constituted 229, 34 euros per ton. Compared to January the price went up by 27 eurocents, which equals to 0, 12%. The current situation is due to a weak value of the currencies euro- dollar and the cheapened dollar contracts for pellet deliveries.
The current situation at the foreign exchange market is owing to a new policy of the European Central Bank, that started to purchase the bonds estimated at 1 billion euros. These measures led to a record fall in the bonds and the foreign investors started their active euro sales. The analysts forecast a further fall in the exchange rate by the end of the year to 0, 85 euros for 1 dollar. The reasons for such considerable pressure lie in low oil quotations and in an expected increase in the rate of the Federal Reserve System and due to the measures taken by the European Central Bank.
Sergey Kozlov, the leading analyst of Ukrainian Biofuel Portal pellets-wood.com forecasts an increased export of the pellets produced in the USA and in Russia destined for the European market. The American producers will increase their share at the expense of the plant of the company Enerpellets Group, Florida and the plant Zilkha, Arkansas, which has the operating capacity of 250 thousand tons a year and 450 thousand tons a year respectively. The import of the Russian pellets will be carried out for the most part in Irkutsk Oblast, where several major plants are prepared to be put into operation. Nonetheless, the Russian producers will not be able yet to push back the American producers at the European market.
Author: Ivan Prokhorov
