FIBER: Industrial Commodity Prices Decline in Latest Four Weeks
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Metals & crude oil prices fall.
- Textile prices ease.
- Lumber & rubber costs increase.
The Industrial Materials Price Index from the Foundation for International Business and Economic Research (FIBER) fell 0.9% during the four weeks ended October 20. The index remains down 2.5% y/y, but it is improved versus a 20.3% y/y decline early in March.
Metals group prices weakened 3.4% (+1.6 y/y) in the last four weeks as zinc prices fell 3.3% (-17.1% y/y). Steel scrap prices declined 3.0% (-0.2% y/y) and tin prices moved 2.3% lower (+28.4% y/y). Lead prices declined 6.5% (+3.1% y/y) in the last four weeks. Aluminum prices eased 0.5% (-2.9% y/y) and copper scrap prices fell 4.4% (+4.2% y/y) in four weeks.
Prices in the crude oil & benzene group declined 1.0% (+6.4% y/y) in the last four weeks. The cost of West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 3.2% in four weeks to $87.76 per barrel, but remained up 2.3% y/y, while the price of the petro-chemical benzene improved 1.3% (31.7% y/y) in four weeks. Excluding crude oil & benzene, the industrial commodity price index fell 0.7% (-2.7% y/y).
Prices in the textile group edged 0.2% lower during the last four weeks and declined 0.9% y/y. Cotton prices fell 2.7% and weakened 2.5% y/y. The cost of burlap increased 2.4% (-4.5 % y/y) in the last four weeks.
Offsetting these declines, prices in the miscellaneous group rose 0.9% (-10.8% y/y) in the latest four-week period. Framing lumber prices rose 2.5% (-35.4% y/y) with continued weakness in home building, but the cost of natural rubber surged 9.4% (6.8% y/y) in four weeks.
The Foundation for International Business and Economic Research (FIBER) develops economic measurement techniques as applied to business cycles and inflation in the U.S. and other market economies. The commodity price data can be found in Haver's DAILY, WEEKLY, USECON and CMDTY databases.
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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