Recycling, Scrap Metal, Commodities and Economic Report

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

weekly tonnage of raw steel production

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

Crude Oil

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.

US Field Production of Crude Oil

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

Oil Rig Count

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

AMM Weekly Heavy Melt

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

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

Copper

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

Aluminum

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

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 New Single-Family Homes

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

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

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

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%.

Dow Jones

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.

40' Conventional

Roll off trailers by BENLEE. Our 40′ triaxle Conventional is great for over permitting or off road. Rated at picking up 75,000 lbs., but we have reports of 130,000-133,000 lbs. Importantly, safety and being legal must be #1.

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This report is brought to you by BENLEE roll off trailers, gondola trailers, lugger trucks and roll off trailer parts.

Greg & Nancy

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.