Advance Durable Goods Orders: The U.S. Census Bureau reported that new orders for durable goods in June 2022 increased by 1.9% month on month (m/m) to $272.6M, following the 0.8% increase in May. The always-volatile nondefense aircraft orders, up 51.5% y/y, influenced this trend significantly.

Producer Price Index: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand grew 1.1% in June 2022 (seasonally adjusted), following the 0.9% increase in May. The index for final demand goods grew 2.4% in June, while the index for final demand services grew 0.4% after a 0.6% increase in May. Over half of the June increase in the index for final demand goods is attributable to gasoline prices, which jumped 18.5 percent.

Crude Oil & Natural Gas Pricing: June’s average West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil price per barrel increased 5% month on month (m/m). The WTI is up 61% year on year (y/y), coming in at $114.84 / barrel in June 2022 vs. $71.38 / barrel in June 2021.

Currency Report: The trade-weighted U.S. Broad Dollar Index posted a reading of 120.162 in June, up 0.27% m/m, steadily increasing the last four months. This index value is up 7.66% on a year on year (y/y) basis.

Employment by Industry (U.S.): In June 2022, the total number of seasonally adjusted (SA), non-farm people employed in the U.S. was 152 million (M) – an increase of 372,000 (+0.2%) month on month (m/m). When compared to June 2021, total employment is up by 4.3% year on year (y/y). Among the employment sectors that we track at Gerdau, we saw the greatest monthly gain in the oil and gas extraction sector with a growth of 1.3% m/m.

Oil and Gas Rotary Rig Counts: The total number of operating rigs in Canada for the week ending June 25th was 104 oil and 50 gas (totaling 154). In percentage terms, on a month on month (m/m) basis, oil rigs were up 89.1% and gas down 4.2%. On a year on year (y/y) comparison, rigs were up 26.8% for oil and up 13.6% for gas. The combined figure for y/y was +22.2% or 28 rigs.