May 2010
Prices continue to rise largely because the “unboiled factories/semi dressers” continue to hold on to their stocks and are drip feeding this into the market in anticipation of ever increasing prices.
There is continued speculation as to how much the RMB will revalue against the US$ this year which is generally expected to be by at least 5%. For those unfortunate enough to have the Euro as their currency, the situation is even more difficult with the currency seemingly in free fall with the markets not convinced that the Greek debt situation is under control , also with the looming concern that Spain/Portugal/Ireland may find themselves in an equally difficult situation.
Scarce stocks of dressed bristle
There are only relatively small amounts of dressed bristle lying in warehouse at the moment in China and therefore it is reasonable that prices will continue to increase in the short term and realistically it is unlikely that the market will stabilise before the end of the summer at the earliest. There is also very little stock available outside of China and we would therefore recommend that you keep a close eye on your stock levels and reorder in a timely fashion.
by Tim Kleingeld