Commodities Get In on the Global Rally – WSJ.com

Prices for industrial commodities soared Monday as new data showed China’s economic boom continuing apace.

China’s report Saturday of a stronger-than-expected 13.9% increase in August industrial production was the latest indication commodity markets can still depend on rapidly expanding demand from the world’s second-largest economy.

Copper saw some of the biggest gains as one of the commodities most dependent on demand from China’s industrial sector. The front-month September copper contract ended 2.2% higher at $3.4715 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. October crude-oil futures settled 1% higher at $77.19 a barrel on Nymex, a one-month high.

via Commodities Get In on the Global Rally – WSJ.com.

China’s Crude-Steel Output Declines to Six-Month Low Update1 – Bloomberg.com

 “The magnitude of China’s steel production cuts is unprecedented, and likely to expand,” Hu said in a Sept. 8 note.

Crude steel production in China, the world’s biggest maker of the metal, fell to a six-month low in August as companies sought to cut overcapacity. Output was 51.64 million metric tons, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics today. That was the lowest since February and a drop from 51.7 million tons in July, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News.

Chinese steel prices gained an average 5.6 percent in August from July, after steelmakers cut output to trim overcapacity. Production may fall in September as local governments start power restrictions to meet energy efficiency targets, according to Hu Yanping, an analyst at researcher UC361.com.via China’s Crude-Steel Output Declines to Six-Month Low Update1 – Bloomberg.com.

Productivity falls while labor costs increase

Productivity in the spring fell by the largest amount in nearly four years while labor costs rose, signals that companies may have reached the limits of squeezing more work out of fewer workers.

Productivity dropped at an annual rate of 1.8 percent in the April–to–June quarter, double the 0.9 percent decline originally reported a month ago, the Labor Department said Thursday. Unit labor costs rose 1.1 percent, the biggest rise in labor costs since late 2008.

via Productivity falls while labor costs increase.

Carbon steel price news from MEPS

Nevertheless, MEPS believe that transaction figures will soften in the second half of 2010.

Global All Products Composite selling figure increased by over $US10 per tonne in August. However, this rise was due to transaction value adjustments in Asia and North America.

via carbon steel price news, steel news, free steel news, steel industry news, steel price news, steel news alerts.

Crude Falls Below $72 as Stockpiles Grow – WSJ.com

Crude futures tumbled Tuesday, settling below $72 a barrel as investors turned their attention toward increasingly high U.S. oil supplies and the slowing economy.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery settled $2.78, or 3.7%, lower, at $71.92 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange settled down $1.96, or 2.6%, at $74.64 a barrel.

via Crude Falls Below $72 as Stockpiles Grow – WSJ.com.