Commodities, Scrap Metal, Recycling and Economic Report

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This is the Commodities, Scrap Metal, Recycling and Economic Report, January 29th, 2024.

U.S. weekly raw steel production rose slightly to 1.68MT on slow U.S. manufacturing.

WTI crude oil price rose to $78.01/b., the highest in two months. This was on good U.S. economic growth, Chinese stimulus, and Middle East tensions.

U.S. weekly crude oil production fell to 12.3Mb/d as major fridged temperatures from North Dakota to Texas hurt production.

The U.S. weekly oil rig count rose to 499 on the continued trend of slight production increases.

Scrap steel #1 HMS price was steady at $380/GT on the slowing global economy. It is unclear what pricing will be for February.

Hot-roll coil steel price fell to $52.47/cwt., $1,049 slowing to steady demand.

Copper price rose to $3.86/lb., on fresh Chinese stimulus and continued concerns of shortages.

Aluminum price rose to $1.03/lb., $2,263/mt. The European Union is considering full ban on Russian Aluminum. Also, on Chinese stimulus on their economy and stock market.

U.S. December goods trade deficit improved to -$88.5B as exports grew fast than imports. Exports of industrial supplies and food grew as imports of autos fell.

U.S. December sales of New Single-Family homes increased a big 8% vs. November. This was on lower interest rates, lower prices, and better supply.

U.S. December durable goods orders were unchanged after a 5.5% increase in November. Excluding transportation equipment, they rose .6%.

U.S. Q4 2023 GDP, economic growth rose at a good 3.3% annualized. The full year 2023 was a solid 2.5%, vs, 1.9% in 2022.

U.S. December Core PCE Personal Consumption Expenditure index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation fell to 2.93% vs. last year. 6 month inflation annualized was 2%. It continued falling, but not at the annual target of 2%.

Wall Street’s Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 245 points for the week to 38,109 hitting a record high during the week. Prices remain high, inflation is slowing, as salaries are higher. U.S. growth is higher than most other countries.

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As always, feel free to call or email me Greg Brown with any questions and we hope all have a safe and profitable week. On a side note, yes my cell phone works well in Vietnam.

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