Coated paper producers Sappi Fine Paper North America of Boston and NewPage of Dayton, Ohio, have announced a $50/ton increase on coated-free sheet. Bowater, meanwhile, is raising the price of its publication papers, including uncoated mechanical high-bright grades, by $40/ton. With the catalog printing season over, buyers had expected price erosion among coated grades especially. However, demand has been holding up better than many market insiders had anticipated.

Prices for crude oil, petroleum products, and natural gas are projected to remain high through 2006, projects the Department of Energy's latest outlook. However, warm winter weather has dulled demand and reduced the height of projected peaks.

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil is projected to average $63/barrel in 2006 and not the $75 projected earlier by independent analysts.
• Retail regular gasoline prices, which averaged $2.28/gallon in 2005, are projected to average $2.41 in 2006 and not the $3 previously forecast.
• Henry Hub natural gas prices, which averaged $9/thousand cubic feet in 2005, are projected to average $9.80 in 2006 and not the $12 projected earlier.

Natural-gas prices fell in February to their lowest level since July 2005 when government reports showed underground gas in storage almost 38% above the five-year average. So, absent a prolonged bout of colder-than-expected weather, industry observers say there is enough gas in storage to get through the final weeks of winter without a big price jump. March futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange last month averaged under $7.50/million British thermal units, as compared with $15.40/million BTUs in December.

"The current climate for aluminum remains one of stronger-than-expected demand," writes analyst Michael F. Gambardella of J.P. Morgan Securities, "and the world market seems to be ignoring the strong aluminum price." In such a marketplace environment, Gambardella sees a world price average of 94¢/lb in 2006 for aluminum ingot, which averaged 78¢ in 2004 and 85¢ in 2005.

Cement makers in Colombia agreed to slash prices a day after authorities announced they would investigate allegations of price-fixing. The cement producers will cut prices for 110 lb cement bags by 14% in Bogota. The decision to cut prices comes on the heels of allegations that the country's three top cement makers were colluding to fix prices and crush smaller competitors.

Stainless steel producers have had enough of falling prices and have sent out intentions of increased flat-rolled transaction prices by 6% in March. According to buyers, the new prices won't stick, especially since February prices fell yet again. North American Stainless, Allegheny Ludlum and AK Steel have raised prices for hot-rolled and cold-rolled stainless steel sheet.

Steady manufacturing will boost electricity demand by 8% this summer, which will ignite prices, say the forecasters at UBS Securities. They see market rates for power soon will be around 10¢ kilowatt-hour as compared with 6¢ for the past several months.

The average 2006 graphite electrode price will increase 8% to $3,085/metric ton, forecasts J.P. Morgan Securities. A 19% price increase had been forecasted earlier to $3,394, but suppliers have been having trouble getting favorable pricing from customers. Graphite electrode shipments to steelmakers are forecast to increase 6% to 213,500 metric tons.

Bowater, Domtar, Smurfit-Stone, Alberta-Pacific, Marubeni, West Fraser and Pope & Talbot aim to increase northern bleached softwood kraft-grade wood pulp by $20 to $660/metric ton. Alberta-Pacific also plans to increase aspen-grade northern bleached hardwood kraft pulp to $650/metric ton, a $20 increase. Domtar also increased its aspen, birch and maple-based hardwood pulp grades by $20.

Sugar futures prices are at their loftiest levels in a quarter century; after trading below 10¢/lb for much of the past decade on the New York Board of Trade, they now are around 19¢. Reason: Hedge funds and other investors are betting that more sugar soon will be needed to produce ethanol.

Prices of concrete reinforcing steel bars will slide because of cheaper offshore steel, says Randy Cousins at BMO Nesbitt Burns. Even though U.S. rebar slid last month to $473/ton, China was selling rebar at home for $269 and the European Union price was about $410. "The strong U.S. dollar makes North America the destination of choice for offshore steel," says Cousins.