Australasia

The New Zealand economy is slowly crawling its way back from recession; it appears likely that the economy saw growth in the final quarter of 2024 - its first time on the positive side of the ledger since the opening quarter of last year. That said, competition is fierce, margin erosion is ever-present, and consumers and recyclers are under constant pressure.

At current levels, domestic consumers are buying, but spot loads are less available given the recent high LME levels. Merchants are finding increased pressure from competitors; with many closing out their financial years at the end of March, there will hopefully be more stock clearing from industrial accounts over the remainder of the month.

Australia is still faring better than New Zealand. The mining sector is in full swing on the back of good commodity prices and, generally speaking, merchants and consumers seem busy. Australia’s GDP grew during the final quarter of last year and has been consistently positive compared with that of its New Zealand neighbours.