Following the overheating of the Chinese and US economy in the last 12 months, there is a sharp increase in the price of many raw materials, including copper (+ 26%), iron (+ 38%) and oil (+53%).
This increase in the prices of raw materials, especially those of metals, is putting European companies in difficulty which are faced with slower demand and which therefore have to deal with higher prices, with greater difficulties in procurement and compliance with delivery time to buyers.
An initial assessment by the Confindustria Studies Center estimates in the fourth quarter of 2020 an increase in the cost of inputs of 1.1% over the second quarter of the same year. But given the trend of further overheating in leading economies, the increase in the first quarter of 2021 is expected to be a multiple of 1.1%. This obviously puts the industrial sectors (mechanics and food in the first place) in difficulty, which use commodities with higher prices.
