Etna, Maine. Oct 14, 2004. /Forestweb/. Aracruz Celuluose today reportedly announced it would raise its bleached eucalyptus kraft (BEK) market pulp price in Europe by $30/tonne to $520/tonne, effective November 1, informed sources indicated. The company could not be reached for comment. Late last week, ENCE reportedly announced a similar hike for BEK in Europe, raising the price in euros to E425/tonne, equivalent to about US$521/tonne, also effective November 1, sources said. A industry veteran said this was about a $25/tonne hike. The company could not be reached for comment. These recent BEK increases for Europe came a bit unexpectedly, given that Weyerhaeuser Co. and Södra just about a week earlier dropped northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) pulp prices in Europe by $30/tonne for October. However, no BEK price changes were announced in October. In a conference call on Oct. 8, Aracuz indicated that it had not changed its BEK prices for October anywhere, but was maintaining them at $510/tonne in Europe, $555/tonne in the U.S., and $450/tonne (some lower) in China. During the presentation, one of the Aracruz executives commented: "The chances of the market moving up is much better than down."