Mar 01, 2005. /Lesprom Network/. Several North American makers of pulp, the raw material used in most types of paper, including tissue, newsprint and stationery, raised prices to match a 10-year high, a CellMark AB executive said, reported Blomberg. The increase to $680 a metric ton came amid shrinking inventories, which are down to roughly 30 days of worldwide demand, Charles Price, eastern sales manager for CellMark, said in a telephone interview from his office in Norwalk, Connecticut. Prices also reached that level in June. Montreal-based Tembec Inc. raised its price by 4.6%, and most of the major producers have announced similar increases, Price said. Procter & Gamble Co. increased prices of Bounty paper towels and Charmin tissue by 6% in July amid rising pulp costs. Kimberly-Clark Corp. followed with a similar increase on its Kleenex and Scott brands. Pulp prices rose 12% last year and 21% in 2003 because of increased demand in the U.S., China and Europe, Price said. Closely held CellMark, based in Gothenburg, Sweden, is the world's largest trader of paper-industry commodities. Weyerhaeuser Co. spokesman Frank Mendizabal said the company's pulp price varies from customer to customer and he declined to comment on any changes. Federal Way, Washington-based Weyerhaeuser is the world's biggest lumber company. Futures on pulp are set to debut on Feb. 11 on the New York of Board of Trade. Canada, the U.S. and Scandinavia are the largest producers of pulp, the exchange said. A futures contract is an obligation to buy or sell a commodity at a set price for delivery by a specific date. Shares of Tembec rose 1 cent to C$6.76 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Weyerhaeuser gained 40 cents to $62.80 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.