Benelux

As the Benelux has been enjoying a rather mild winter so far, there has been more or less a continuation of the pace seen at the end of 2024. Everyone has returned to work, yards are open for business and metal is flowing again, relatively speaking, after the two-week holiday period. The restart has been rather slow but this has not come as a surprise.  

The newspapers continue to tell us about the overall state of the economy and the many challenges faced by the EU. Although most experts remain moderately positive about the Dutch and Belgian economies, an eye has to be kept on what happens in the rest of the world. Geopolitical and economic factors have a say in steering our economies in a certain direction. In addition, Belgium is still awaiting the formation of its new government although it has already been mooted that the defence budget, for instance, will be increased, which indirectly would have a positive impact on demand for certain metals. The biggest hurdle at present remains an underperforming automotive industry.

Copper is still performing its magic as demand seems to be strong. In contrast, the other non-ferrous metals have had their own challenges at the start of the new year.