October 2, 2023
This is the Commodities, Scrap Metal, Recycling and Economic Report, October 2nd, 2023.
U.S. weekly raw steel production was steady at 1.73MT on slowing U.S. Manufacturing.
WTI crude oil price rose to $90.74/b., on Saudi Arabian and Russian supply cuts along with constrained U.S. production. The constrained production and cuts are bringing near record profits to the Saudis, Russians, and U.S. producers, but causing added inflation.
The U.S. Weekly oil rig count fell to 502 as drillers increase productivity and on constrained investment. The constrained investment is bringing great shareholder returns from oil companies.
U.S. weekly oil production was steady at 12.9Mb/d, as the U.S. is on track for an all-time record year of oil production. Also. U.S. oil exports are good, but U.S. companies are being careful to not take too much global market share. That would get OPEC mad and would cause them to drop prices as a punishment.
Scrap steel #1HMS price was steady at $330/GT and is forecast to fall about $15/GT or more this week.
Hot-rolled coil steel price fell to $33.47/cwt., $669/T on slow U.S. manufacturing.
Copper price rose to $3.73/lb., on China’s positive growth, but on concerns of China’s slow housing market. Also, on added concerns over slowing growth in the U.S. and Europe.
Aluminum price rose to $1.07/lb., $2,357/mt as China halted expansion of aluminum production and on good demand.
China September NBS manufacturing index increased to 50.2 the first growth in factory activity since March. Output and new orders rose, while foreign sales and employment fell.
U.S. August new orders for manufactured goods rose .2% vs. July. Machinery led the increase while other capital goods fell.
U.S. August new single family home sales slumped by 8.7% to an annualized the rate of the 1970s. This was on soaring mortgage rates at a 23 year high and on slightly lower prices.
U.S. Q2 GDP gross domestic product: a measure of economic growth. It grew at 2.1%, while Q1 was revised up. Some are forecasting we had 3.5% growth in Q3, with a drop in Q4 and a slow 1.5% in 2024.
U.S. annual core PCE, personal consumption expenditure index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge that excludes food and energy. It fell to 3.9% over last year and increased only .1% vs July.
Wall Street’s Dow Jones Industrial Average fell to 33,508 on concerns over higher interest rates causing slower economic growth.
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