Prices for recycled fiber-based containerboard (RCCM) in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region varied little in December, with locally made testliner and fluting remaining flat or slightly lower than in November, according to Fastmarkets sources.

Fastmarkets' PIX Testliner GCC index declined $3.01 per tonne, or 0.63%, to settle at $476.80 per tonne, while the PIX Fluting GCC index fell $1.03 per tonne, or 0.23%, to $454.56 per tonne. Both indices fell for the second consecutive month.

According to sources, international freight rates remained elevated in December, albeit not as high as in July, and this was confirmed by Drewry's World Container Index, which rose by 14% from a small trough on November 28 to $3,905 per 40-foot container on January 2.

Saudi Aramco, the energy firm, has raised diesel prices in Saudi Arabia to 1.66 riyals ($0.44) per litre, up 0.51 riyals, or 44.3%, from 1.15 riyals per litre, beginning January 1, 2025. Aramco's previous increase was in January 2024, when it rose by 53% to 1.15 riyals.

Producers had planned to raise containerboard prices in January, based on the expectation that Ramadan, which begins at the end of February, would boost demand in early 2025, but some sources said the expected supply/demand balance had shifted, making price increases more difficult to achieve.

Market participants told Fastmarkets that one factor was the region's recent and planned increases in containerboard production capacity - in summer 2024, the Red Sea Company began production with a reported capacity of 6,000-7,000 tonnes per month, and at least two more mills are scheduled to begin later this year.