Market News Service

The Northern European markets seem to be rebalancing. On the one hand, supply levels from the French West Indies and Africa have been higher. However, shipments from dollar sources have been more moderate (light loads from Costa Rica due to the rains in weeks 1 and 2), and there has been better distribution of trade-offs with the British market returning to normal. But above all, demand seems to have started to pick up, especially thanks to the end of the cold snap. Might the bases for seasonal price rises finally be in place? Conversely, the Southern European markets have remained pressurised due to slow demand and high imports, both in Italy and Spain. The situation in Russia, hitherto catastrophic, seems to be improving thanks to more moderate import levels. In Eastern Europe, the markets have remained satisfactory although some weaknesses have appeared with the rise in volumes (direct shipments, and still a sizeable supply from Western Europe), and with demand disrupted by the cold.