US Aluminum premiums climb as demand picks up

Reuters reported that the US primary aluminum market is seeing a surprisingly strong burst in spot purchases at the start of the quarter with supplier order books filling up even as volatile financial markets dispel recovery hopes.

The demand pickup has caught physical market players by surprise many of whom expected the seasonally slower Q4 to close out 2011 with a whimper. So far it is shaping up to be a busier than normal quarter.

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Purchasing.com and Purchasing magazine will be missed

Purchasing.com and Purchasing Magazine were important, ‘go-to’ resources for as long as I can remember, when I was a purchaser for Pillsbury and Ball. It’s hard to believe they are both are now gone.

Frankly, it’s even harder to understand why Purchasing Magazine and Purchasing.com were literally abandoned by Reed Business Publications. Stories on the street suggest that the domain name Purchasing.com has been permanently shelved, with no plans to either resurrect or sell it.

Pity really:  the Purchasing community (like any group of professionals) needs a forum, a vehicle, a gathering place where practitioners can learn about what’s happening in the marketplace and keep in contact with peers.

To some extent, Purchasing Professionals’ Blog was created to fill the void left by the loss of Purchasing Magazine and Purchasing.com. Please feel free to explore this blog, make comments, submit articles and ideas, or participate in any way you see fit.

Best regards
Rod Sherkin

Copper Heads for Record Weekly Gain, Industrial Metals Jump on Europe Pact

On the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months rose 6.1 percent to close at $8,145 a metric ton ($3.69 a pound) at 6:32 p.m. This week, the commodity has jumped 14 percent, poised for the biggest increase since Bloomberg data starts in April 1986.

Copper futures for December delivery advanced 5.8 percent to $3.692 a pound on the Comex in New York. This month, the price has surged 17 percent, heading for the largest gain since March 2009.

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Jobs lost to China coming home

New research from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in Chicago suggests transportation goods such as vehicles and auto parts, electrical equipment including household appliances, and furniture are among seven sectors that will reach a tipping point by 2015 and could create up to 3 million jobs as some of the manufacturing returns to North America. BCG expects the trend to accelerate starting in the next five years.

Sometimes proximity is a good thing. Manufacturing offshore in China for North American markets is not as cost-effective as it once was, and it appears some of the production lost to overseas locales may be coming back to the US.

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Iron ore in record slide as China demand slows

Iron ore with 62-percent iron content fell 7.2 percent to $128.50 a tonne on Tuesday, according to Platts. It was the biggest percentage drop for the reference price index since Platts began publishing it in November 2008.

Iron ore‘s steepest ever price slide on Tuesday reflects slowing growth in top consumer China and casts more doubts on Beijing’s commodity demand at a time when the outlook for developed economies remains shaky.

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Copper Ends at 1-Month High

Copper futures surged 7.1%, ending at a one-month high as strong manufacturing data from top consumer China and hopes for a European debt deal sent investors who had bet against the industrial metal rushing to reverse those positions.

The contract for October delivery rose 22.8 cents to settle at $3.447 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement price since Sept. 22.

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Cotton Contracts, Made to be Broken

Since they agreed earlier this year to buy thousands of bales of cotton when prices were at record highs, cotton mills have seen prices tumble 57%. So, as delivery time nears and bills come due, some have decided not to pay up.

Just how binding is a binding agreement?

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Industrial Metals Soar Most in Three Years on European Talks, China Demand

On the London Metal Exchange, an index measuring copper, aluminum, nickel, lead, zinc and tin rose 5.9 percent to 3,433.6, the biggest gain since Oct. 29, 2008. The gauge has jumped 11 percent since touching a 15-month low of 3,096.8 on Oct. 20.

Industrial metals in London jumped the most in three years, led by copper and nickel, as European governments moved closer to containing the region’s debt crisis and manufacturing rebounded inChina, the world’s top consumer.

via Industrial Metals Soar Most in Three Years on European Talks, China Demand – Bloomberg.

Iron Ore’s Worst Rout in 15 Months Seen Deepening as China’s Growth Slows

Prices of fines with 62 percent iron content delivered to the port of Tianjin plunged 18 percent in the past six weeks after reaching $191.90 on Feb. 16, the highest since at least 2008, The Steel Index data show. The cash price hasn’t traded at less than $140 per ton since September 2010. Swaps for December are at $126.87 per ton, according to Singapore Exchange Ltd.

Iron ore’s biggest decline in 15 months may worsen as the economy slows in China, the largest importer, the European debt crisis persists and BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) and Rio Tinto Group increase production, analysts said.

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As the Chinese Take a Breather, Commodity Markets Gasp

The index of 19 widely consumed commodities ended the quarter down 11.3%, suddenly hit by the prospect that a slowdown in China and other fast-growing emerging markets will remove a major remaining price support.

Recent years have demonstrated how Chinese demand can buoy commodity prices even in a stormy world.

But recent days showed how raw-material markets can react if investors think China’s ship could be listing, too.

via As the Chinese Take a Breather, Commodity Markets Gasp – WSJ.com.