April 7 – Bloomberg (Koh Chin Ling): “China Steel Corp., Taiwan’s largest steelmaker, said it will increase export prices by one-fifth on average in the three months ending July 31 because of higher raw material and transportation costs. The state-controlled company plans to raise hot-rolled steel prices by $140 a ton to $500 for Southeast Asian customers, and by $135 for Chinese buyers…”
April 6 – Bloomberg (Alex Lawler): “The International Energy Agency, an adviser to 26 industrialized countries, raised its forecast for world oil consumption this year for the sixth straight month as the U.S. economy recovers and demand surges in China. Global use of gasoline, diesel and other fuels will rise by 1.7 million barrels a day to almost 80.3 million barrels daily, the biggest gain since 1997. The increase is 60,000 barrels a day more than the IEA forecast last month. In the second quarter, demand will be 300,000 barrels a day higher than previously expected, the Paris-based agency said in a monthly report. ‘The driving force is the expanding economy,’ Klaus Rehaag, editor of the report, said by telephone from Paris. ‘We have a significant recovery from the recession that’s primarily driven by the U.S. At the same point in time, China and India are expanding extremely rapidly.’”
Crude oil surged 8% this week, jumping back above $37 a barrel. The Goldman Sachs Commodity Index (GSCI) jumped 4.4%, increasing y-t-d gains to almost 11%. The GSCI rose yesterday to the highest level since November 1980. The CRB index gained almost 1%.
