Press Releases

ISRI joined more than 180 organizations in a letter addressed to Congress urging them to ensure that loans received by businesses as part of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) are not taxed as income. Many recyclers have benefitted from the PPP over the past few months. The letter makes the point that when the PPP...

In London, LME 3-mo. copper and aluminum closed yesterday at $6,435/mt and $1,718.50/mt, respectively, while 3-mo. nickel was recently trading up around $13,734/mt. All three commodities higher than the prior week. In New York, NYMEX crude oil futures dipped to $40.19 per barrel pre-opening and then rose nearly $1 during early trading. On Wall Street,...

Other key U.S. economic reports this week will cover light vehicle sales, construction spending, manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMI, the trade balance, and initial unemployment claims. On the economic policy front, the Congressional debate of new fiscal stimulus returns this week. The Financial Times reports “In the US, Congress continues to seek common ground on approving...

Real Gross Domestic Product This is the worse GDP rate since this series began. GDP is down 9.5 percent, compared to a year ago, 2nd Quarter 2020 versus 2nd Quarter 2019. First quarter 2020 GDP was down 5.0 percent. The decline in both quarters reflect the effects states’ responses to COVID-19, as stay-at-home orders were...

Instead, seaborne prices in both Europe and Asia have moved higher so far this quarter, boosted by a quick turnround in demand in Turkey and a strong pull for billet from China. The sustained weakness in the USD, especially against the euro (a key source of scrap to Turkey) has also proved a tailwind more...