n° 161 – July 2019

There has been a slow pace to activity in the scrap sector during July, not least because it is a summer vacation month in Scandinavia. Many industries close down for two or three weeks, and therefore scrap generation is low. The first signs of a slowdown in demand for non-ferrous scrap are now being seen. Consumers in Europe are reporting lower demand, especially the automotive sector.

In Denmark’s parliamentary election on June 5, it came as no surprise that the left-wing Social Democrats gained control of the prime ministry. The new Prime Minister is Mette Frederiksen - the second woman to take Denmark’s top seat.

More Danes are in employment than ever before, and signs of a labour shortage in certain sectors are now becoming evident. It will be a challenge for the new government to continue the very positive growth in Denmark’s GDP and to prevent too many bottlenecks within the labour market.

Meanwhile, there are indications of a slower pace to the Swedish economy. A drop in both private consumption and consumer confidence was mainly behind a decrease in demand in this year’s first quarter. However, Sweden’s important industrial sector appears to have regained momentum, supported by a slightly weaker currency.

The Norwegian economy is in good health: private consumption is growing, supported by increasing wages and very low unemployment rates. GDP is expected to grow around 2% in 2019. And in Finland, a slight drop in consumer prices and decreasing private consumption were the main reasons for modest GDP growth in the first half of 2019. For the year as a whole, Finland’s economic growth is expected to be around 2%.