July 10, 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, July 10th, 2023.
U.S. weekly raw steel production fell to 1.735MT on the slowing U.S. economy.
WTI crude oil price rose to $73.86/b., as Saudi Arabia and Russia announced production cuts. Despite sanctions, Russia is selling all the oil they want.
The U.S. weekly oil rig count fell to 540 the lowest in about 15 months. Drillers continue to increase productivity per rig. This is while being concerned about oversupply that would lower prices.
U.S. weekly crude oil production rose to 12.4Mb/d., top of tight range for the past 15 months. This was still off the high of 13.1Mb.d pre COVID, but two weeks ago we had record oil exports, yes, the U.S. had record oil exports. 2023 could be a possible record year for U.S. oil production while the U.S. is gaining market share as OPEC+ cuts production.
Scrap Steel #1 HMS price was steady at $310/GT, but fell in some markets. Supply and demand are mostly in balance.
Hot-rolled coil steel price fell to $43.56/cwt., $878/T as U.S. manufacturing economy is slowing.
Copper price fell slightly to $3.78/lb., on the continued slowing global economy.
Aluminum price fell rose to $.99/lb., $2,175/mt., on slowing demand and concerns over increased supply.
U.S. June IBD/TIPP economic optimism index edged up to 41.7, but below 50 means pessimistic. 51% of consumers questioned believe we are in a recession, but we have a record number of people working. The end of the 3 year moratorium on student loan payments hurt the index.
U.S. June new jobs created fell to 209,000, missing forecasts of 225,000. This is good news for the Federal Reserve in that slowing hiring reduces labor demand.
U.S. June average hourly earnings rose 4.4% vs last year, surpassing estimates of 4.2%. This is viewed as inflationary, but it was 8.1% in April 2020.
U.S. May Job vacancies fell to 9.8M, but sharply higher than pre-COVID. Healthcare declined, but state and local government openings increased. Larger numbers of open jobs is inflationary as companies need to pay more to hire people.
U.S. May trade deficit narrowed slight to $69B, the lowest in about 18 months. Sadly, it gets better as the economy slows, because we buy less from China, Mexico, Vietnam and more. Imports of cell phones fell, as exports of vehicles made here in the U.S. mostly by BMW and Mercedes increased.
Wall Street’s Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 187 points on Friday to 33,725 on the slowing new jobs report. Also, as the Federal Reserve stated interest rates will continue to rise.
Gondola trailers, open top trailers and scrap haulers are back in stock for immediate delivery. These are 48′ long and 8′ high. 53′ long and other custom sizes are a short 4-6 week lead time. Call BENLEE for a quote at 734-722-8100.
As always, feel free to call or email me with any questions and we hope all have a safe and profitable week.