National Cable Specialists- August 2023 Raw Material Updates
National Cable Specialists Raw Material Update for August 2023 and historical averages.
Copper prices snapped back on Thursday after touching their lowest in 2-1/2 months, tracking a recovery in the currency of top metals consumer China after support measures.
COPPER – Copper bounces off 2-1/2 month low
Below is a graph that shows monthly copper averages since August, 2022:
Below is a graph that shows copper annual averages on an annual basis over the past 20 years:
ALUMINUM – Chinese duties on U.S. imports ‘inconsistent’ with WTO
obligations
A World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement panel on Wednesday found that China had acted inconsistently with its WTO obligations by imposing additional duties on certain U.S. imports in response to U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminium.
More information available here
Below is a graph that shows monthly aluminum averages since August, 2022:
Below is a graph that shows aluminum annual averages on an annual basis over the past 20 years:
RESIN/PLASTIC – Resin Price Report: Bullish Market Gains Momentum
Spot resin continued to transact at a rapid pace the week of Aug. 7, and prices for all polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) grades added $0.01/lb, as the burgeoning bullish sentiment noted in last week’s Resin Price Report gained more steam.
LUMBER – Canada’s housing starts trend rises for second consecutive month in July
The housing starts trendline increased for the second consecutive month due to a healthy number of actual housing starts in July. The trend was 242,525 units, up 2.8 per cent from 235,819 units in June, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend measure is a six-month moving average of the monthly SAAR of total housing starts for all areas in Canada.
More information available here
OIL & GAS – July-August Licence Activity Review – A busy summer in the Montney
The past month has seen an uptick in licensing activity across the Canadian oil patch. From July 13 to August 12, 536 licenses were obtained. This represents a 22.1% increase over the previous month, which saw companies obtain 439 new licenses.