United Kingdom

The recent General Election has returned a new Labour government and a new Prime Minister. Although there remains a lot of uncertainty, people are hoping this will bring some stability economically. On the currency front, the pound remained steady during election week, unlike on some previous occasions.

The party’s manifesto highlights its aim to bring improvements in infrastructure, housing, construction and energy, potentially leading to an increase in material needs if or when these projects start. Many projects across the country are already in the pipeline and businesses are hoping the election result will finally give them the go-ahead, although high interest rates would seem to make this very unlikely.

There are reports that the UK economy grew 0.6% last month, with services being the main part of that. But while services growth was revised upwards, increases in manufacturing were revised downwards, once again affecting the supply of metals to be recycled. Even though the market is still healthy and demand for non-ferrous is still there, volumes remain steady but scarce in some parts of the country.

On the export side, Asia seems to have taken a step back on certain grades, making Europe and India the go-to destinations for merchants at present.