Commodities, Scrap Metal, Recycling and Economic Report

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This is the Commodities, Scrap Metal, Recycling and Economic Report, brought to you by BENLEE roll-trailers, gondola trailers and roll-off truck parts, May 30th, 2023.

U.S. weekly raw steel rose slightly to 1.728MT a 76.8% steel mill utilization rate, vs. 81.1% last year, on a slowing U.S. Economy.

WTI crude oil price rose to $72.67/b. on uncertain demand. OPEC plus is meeting this week and warning of supply cuts to get higher prices.

The U.S. weekly oil rig count fell to 570 on slow U.S. and global demand. Drillers are keeping the rig count low, to keep prices high.

U.S. weekly crude oil production rose slightly to 12.3Mb/d., in the same tight range for a year. The tight range is keeping prices and profits high.

Scrap Steel #1 HMS price was steady at $340/GT. There is downward pressure for June on a slowing global economy.

Hot-rolled coil steel price fell to $50.96/cwt., $1,019/T. on the slowing U.S. economy.

Copper price fell to $3.67/lb., the lowest in 6 months on the slow recovery in China and increasing inventories.

Aluminum price fell to $1.02/lb., $2,249/mt. the lowest in 6 months on continued record Chinese production.

U.S. April personal consumption expenditure price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred Inflation gauge. It rose to 4.4% with goods up 2.1% and services up 5.5%. This is bad news. It could mean there are more interest rate increases to come.

U.S. May U of M Consumer Sentiment Index was revised higher to 59.2 but was the lowest in 6 months. Debt ceiling arguments hurt, but inflation expectations in the year ahead were lower.

U.S. 1st Q GDP (Economic Growth Rate) was revised up to 1.3%, better than the initial number but the lowest since Q2 2022. Lower inventories hurt, but consumer spending accelerated. Also, exports grew more than imports, which helped.

U.S. debt ceiling talks. Over the weekend there was a tentative agreement reached. This was good news, but damage was done to U.S. credibility.

U.S. May S&P Composite PMI rose to 54.5 a 13 month high. There was the first fall in input prices in 3 years and expectations for the coming year improved.

Wall Street’s Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 328 points to 33,093, despite tech stocks rising. Friday was positive with good earnings announcements, and positive feelings about a debt ceiling deal. Inflation news was bad though.

Gondola trailers, scrap haulers or tin scows in Canada, by BENLEE. 48’ long, 8’ high is the most common in the U.S. 53’ long, 8’ high is the common in Canada. Call BENLEE at 734-722-8100 for a quote.

As always, feel free to call or email me with any questions and we hope all have a safe and profitable week.

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