Portugal & Spain

The markets in Portugal and Spain are picking up after the summer holiday season. Stainless steel prices have fallen significantly and many companies have stopped sales. The primary aluminium consumer market is stable, and the same applies locally to copper and copper alloys. There are still stocks available owing to lower demand in China.

In Portugal, the tourism sector has shown an increase of 11.1% compared to last year, thus contributing immensely to the country’s economy on its path to post-pandemic recovery.

Although net exports have weakened and private consumption has slowed compared to the beginning of this year, the Portuguese economy is still expected to record growth of 2% in 2024 and 2025.

Since the new government took office in April this year, it has increased pensions and salaries in the public sector and is planning to reduce taxes on the middle class to stimulate economic growth.

The Spanish economy is now expected to perform better in 2024 than previously thought, with the original projection of 2.4% now upgraded to 2.7%. One of the reasons for this is a booming tourism sector, with an impressive 12% increase in tourists’ spending coming mostly from German and British visitors.

The expanding economy in Spain has contributed to a slowdown in inflation. Annual inflation has dropped to 2.4%, which is 0.1 percentage points lower than forecasted and reflects lower prices for food and fuel.