June 19, 2023
This is the Commodities, Scrap Metal, Recycling and Economic Report, brought to you by BENLEE roll trailers, gondola trailers and roll off truck parts, June 19th, 2023.
U.S. weekly raw steel production fell to 1.739MT a 77.3% steel mill utilization rate vs. 79.6% last year. This was on a continued slow U.S. economy.
WTI crude oil price rose to $71.78/b., on China’s interest rate cut, a report of global oil demand is rising and on a weaker U.S. dollar.
The U.S. weekly oil rig count fell to 552, the lowest in over a year. U.S. drillers are keeping production low to keep prices high.
U.S. weekly crude oil production was 12.4Mb/d, at the top of the range for the past 14 months. This was as oil companies in the U.S. and globally are committed to tight supply.
Scrap Steel #1 HMS price settled at $310/GT on continued slow demand putting downward pressure on prices.
Hot-rolled coil steel price fell to $44.75/cwt, $895/T on slow U.S. demand.
Copper price rose to $3.88/lb., the highest in about a month on concerns over limited supply and hopes of more Chinese economic stimulus.
Aluminum price rose slightly to $1.03/lb., $2,271/mt on the same hopes of Chinese stimulus and some lack of supply concerns.
The U.S. Federal Reserve Interest Rate remained unchanged at 5%-5.25%, but in the announcement they said that rates may rise to 5.6% by year end.
U.S. May Consumer Price Index fell to 4.0% vs. last year, better than the forecasted 4.1%. Energy fell 11.7% and transportation services fell 10.2%. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, fell to 5.3%.
U.S. May Industrial production rose .2% vs. last year as mining jumped 5%, utilities declined 3.8% and manufacturing shrank .3%.
U.S. May NFIB Small Business Optimism index increased slightly to 89.4, still near a 49 year low. Concerns over future business conditions, inflation and labor quality were the top issues.
U.S. June U of M Consumer Sentiment Index rose to 63.9, the highest in 4 months. This is a people are feeling better about current and future expectations.
Wall Street’s Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 422 points to 34,299 as the Federal Reserve announced that it was holding interest rates steady. Also, as May retail sales were up 1.6% vs. last year. A good number, but down when adjusted for the 4% inflation.
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As always, feel free to call or email me with any questions and we hope all have a safe and profitable week.