Lumber Tops Commodity Futures in February as Demand From China May Climb

Prices have gained 11 percent since the end of January, the most among 35 raw materials tracked by the Rogers International Commodity Index. Lumber may reach $300 per 1,000 board feet by July on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, up 9 percent from today’s close of $275.20 and the highest since April 6, Wood Resources said.

Lumber futures that surged more than any other commodity in February may extend a rally to a 10-month high as China boosts imports and the U.S. housing recovers, researcher Wood Resources International LLC said.

via Lumber Tops Commodity Futures in February as Demand From China May Climb – Bloomberg.

Trucks Run on Natural Gas in Pickens Clean Energy Drive

Using natural gas could cut fuel costs by more than $20,000 for a truck traveling a typical long-haul distance of 100,000 miles (161,000 kilometers) a year, according to JMP Securities LLC’s Shawn Severson. Shares in Clean Energy and Westport are up at least 30 percent since the end of last year.

“Natural gas is green in terms of the environment, but the real green is in the money,” said Severson, a San Francisco- based clean-technology analyst. “If you do not have this fuel in your fleet for whatever percentage is appropriate, you’re going to be at an economic disadvantage.”

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Commodities Rally to Highest in More Than Six Months on Bailout for Greece

Commodities jumped to a six-month high as euro-area finance ministers reached agreement on a second debt bailout for Greece and U.S. equities rallied, boosting prospects for raw-material demand.

The Standard & Poor’s GSCI Spot Index of 24 commodities rose 1.6 percent to 699.17 at 2:56 p.m. in New York after reaching 700.79, the highest since July 27. Metals led the gains with silver up 3.7 percent and aluminum gaining 3.5 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed above 13,000 for the first time since 2008.

via Commodities Rally to Highest in More Than Six Months on Bailout for Greece – Bloomberg.

America’s Productivity Boom

Of the 19 economies tracked by the BLS, only Taiwan managed to improve its unit labor cost position more than the United States did.

U.S. workers can be placed at a competitive disadvantage because of low labor costs abroad. This disadvantage was especially severe in the early years of the 2000s when the enduring effects of earlier financial crises in many parts of the world depressed production costs in much of Asia, Brazil, Russia, and elsewhere. Since then, continued robust productivity growth in the United States, particularly in the manufacturing sector, has been reinforced by a gradual realignment of the currencies of many U.S. trading partners.

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US propylene a victim of shale gas? It doesn’t need to be

Living up to its reputation of late as a volatile market, the US propylene market has undergone another major price swing, with February contract prices up more than 16.5 cts/lb ($364/mt) from January levels.

In case you are keeping count (and if you are a propylene buyer, you have to be), February marked the fifth time in roughly a year’s time the market witnessed double-digit price movements in its contract prices.

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Gazprom cuts Natural Gas prices in Europe by 10%

Russia’s natural gas monopoly Gazprom reduced the gas price under long-term contracts for consumers in the EU and Turkey by 10 percent, The Financial Times reported on Friday.

This step was caused by “mounting pressure to move away from oil-linked prices,” the publication says. The newspaper quotes Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, head of Gazprom Export Alexander Medvedev as saying, “Our partners asked us to revise our prices and … what we did is correct the parameters of our formula, which led to a relative price reduction of 10 percent on average.”

“The new price will ensure that Russian gas remains competitive,” he added.

via Gazprom lowers gas prices on long term contracts for the EU and Turkey – BSANNA NEWS

Container Rates Rising 28% as Cargo to U.S. Rebounds From Decline

The cost of moving a loaded forty-foot steel box to the West Coast from China was last at $1,824, from $1,418 on Dec. 16, Clarkson data show. That’s still 5.6 percent lower than a year ago after a capacity glut drove rates down as much as 30 percent in 2011. Average costs to charter ships carrying 4,400 twenty-foot boxes for six to 12 months will rise to $18,000 a day this year, from $8,700 in 2011, according to Morgan Stanley.

Container rates on the world’s biggest international trade route are rallying after U.S. imports of manufactured goods rebounded from the first decline in two years.

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MEPS World Steel Price Forecast

MEPS predicts that its World Composite Steel Price will rise by approximately 11.5 percent by mid 2012. The most significant gains are anticipated in the flat products segment as prices rally after the substantial reductions in the second half of last year.

The steel price revival was led by the changing market situation in North America as scrap prices surged at the end of 2011. The prospect of higher raw material costs also pushed up steel selling values recently in Asia and Europe.

via STEEL INDUSTRY NEWS FROM MEPS INTERNATIONAL LTD.

Gas Futures Plunge Nearly 8%

Natural-gas futures plummeted 7.7%—the biggest one-day percentage decline in more than 18 months—as traders were disappointed natural-gas producers hadn’t announced further cutbacks due to low prices.

Futures prices for March delivery were down nearly 8.6% at their lowest point during the session, before recovering slightly to end the day 21 cents lower, at $2.503 per million British thermal units, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement price was the lowest since Jan. 20, and the drop was the biggest since April 29, 2010.

via Gas Futures Plunge Nearly 8% – WSJ.com.