It looks like Industrial Production has risen in July higher than forecast in the US.
The two major minerals used in Industrial Production is iron ore and metalurgical coal to produce steel!
Then the complimentary goods such as nickel & ferro chrome, for stainless steel, zinc for galvanised steel, manganese for high strength steel all increase in demand and PRICES!!!
Vale is the main supplier of iron ore to the US, which means less for China, at a time of the year when China starts to crank up production of steel! Keep an eye on that spot price of iron ore, still sitting at $US157 per tonne!
Got to be a good thing for FWL and the like!
The Capacity Utilisation which shows what percentage of Capital Output is being used by US factories is now at the highest level as before the GFC!!
As long as we see a continued improvement in Industrial Prodn, with the odd negative number being less than a positive increase, then the US economy will show signs of improved GDP growth going forward.
Aug 17 (Reuters) - U.S. industrial production expanded in July at twice the clip economists had expected, a sign that at least one sector of the economy is still humming along despite weakness in housing and jobs.
Boosted by increases in auto production, industrial output jumped 1 percent last month, though the prior month's slight gain was revised to show a 0.1 percent decline, according to Fed data released on Tuesday.
Capacity utilization, a measure of how fully firms are employing their resources and a key benchmark for monetary policy, rose to 74.8, the highest since September 2008, when the financial crisis was raging.
Output gains were seen across the board, most notably in an 8.8 percent surge in automotive products, but also in business equipment, which saw a 1.8 percent increase in July. Manufacturing output rose 1.1 percent following a 0.5 percent drop in June.
LCG Price at posting:
8.6¢ Sentiment: LT Buy Disclosure: Held
