The October 2026 EUROMETAL survey shows that European steel distributors expect activity and prices to rise, while current market conditions remain broadly stable.
After more optimistic assessments in September, survey participants in October also mostly expect activity to increase over the coming quarter. Expectations of price increases are even more pronounced, making this the survey’s clearest signal.
Inventory assessments mostly point to stability, with distributors continuing to take a cautious approach to stock management.
Overall, the industry remains cautiously optimistic, but expectations of improvement have yet to translate into a noticeable rise in current activity.
Assessment of current activity
In October, most participants rated current activity as neutral, with respondents most often reporting stable conditions.
Responses on both sides of the neutral mark show that market conditions are uneven. Some participants report an increase in activity, while others continue to face a decline.
The market is therefore continuing to stabilize. Despite more positive forecasts, October’s results do not yet point to a broad recovery in business activity.
Activity outlook
In October, expectations for activity in the next quarter remained positive.
Most responses are still above the neutral mark, sustaining the more optimistic sentiment seen since August. A significant share of participants expect activity to remain unchanged, while fewer are forecasting a decline.
Respondents see opportunities for conditions to improve in the coming months. However, the high share of neutral responses points to restrained expectations: participants are anticipating a gradual upturn rather than a sharp recovery.
Inventory expectations
Most participants expect inventories to remain at roughly the same level, indicating that distributors are taking a cautious approach to stock management.
Among those expecting a change, responses predicting lower inventories are slightly more common than expectations of an increase.
Positive forecasts for activity and prices are therefore not yet prompting participants to replenish inventories on a broad scale. Plans remain cautious, in line with the largely stable assessment of current market conditions.
Price expectations
In October, price forecasts continued to point predominantly to increases.
The largest share of responses is above the neutral mark, continuing the upward trend seen in previous months. Relatively few participants expect prices to remain stable or decline.
The survey shows that participants expect prices to strengthen over the next three months. However, this should not be taken as evidence of stronger demand: the survey reflects expectations about the direction of prices but does not establish the reasons for any possible changes.
Outlook for the coming months
The October survey maintains the cautiously positive picture that emerged in September.
Forecasts for future activity remain favorable, while price expectations point to increases. At the same time, current activity is mostly stable and inventory plans remain cautious.
Taken together, these indicators show that the industry expects conditions to improve but remains cautious in its practical decisions. A more noticeable increase in current activity would provide convincing evidence that the anticipated recovery is indeed beginning.
The analysis is based on the results of the October 2026 EUROMETAL Market Sentiment Survey. A total of 173 participants answered the questions on activity, 168 answered the question on inventories, and 173 answered the question on prices. EUROMETAL conducts surveys monthly and publishes results broken down by sector, region and customer industry.
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