According to the latest market sentiment survey conducted by the industry association EUROMETAL, European distributors are expecting clearer signals of recovery, but they are seeing a pause in deterioration.
Steel distributors continue to carefully manage their inventories, but price expectations have strengthened at a positive level, indicating a gradual improvement in price sentiment, despite the fact that demand fundamentals remain weak, Kallanish reports.
The EUROMETAL survey is based on responses from 200 industry participants, who report that activity in January remained virtually unchanged compared to the last months of 2025. However, the responses also indicate that the short-term prospects are improving slightly, Kallanish understands. Although confidence remains volatile, the January results suggest that pessimism has weakened somewhat, and fewer respondents expect further deterioration.
Most distributors expect inventory levels to remain generally stable over the next three months, with no signs of active or aggressive restocking. As for prices, "sentiment has now strengthened significantly above the neutral level," EUROMETAL reports, as a growing proportion of distributors expect prices to remain at the same level or rise moderately in the coming months.
To summarize, EUROMETAL warns that a clear recovery in demand is not yet expected, but also notes that positive price expectations are a potentially important signal.
Author: Christian Kel
Kallanish.com
