Two weeks of strikes in protest against government plans to reform pension arrangements have delayed some minor metals deliveries that will now be postponed until 2020.
"It's very difficult to get material in and out of France and this is practically the last week of the year to ship goods to customers," a European minor metals trader said.
"From next week onwards, most manufacturers close or are in inventory check and do not want to receive additional material," he added.
Customers that required prompt material on a spot basis are the ones that have been most affected by the strike. This year, an increasing number of orders were made at the...