This Morning in Metals: U.S. industrial production rises 0.4% in August

U.S. industrial production up 0.4%

U.S. industrial production rose 0.4% in August, according to the Federal Reserve.
Despite the rise, industrial production in August remained down 7.3% compared with the pre-pandemic level in February.
Manufacturing output rose 1.0%. However, the Fed noted gains for most manufacturing sectors have tapered since June.

Nucor releases Q3 guidance

Steelmaker Nucor Corporation said it expects its third-quarter earnings to fall in the range of between $0.50 and $0.55 per diluted share.
Nucor said its downstream products segment is having “another strong quarter due to the continued resiliency of nonresidential construction markets.”
The steelmaker expects earnings for the downstream segment to increase from the second to the third quarters.
“The results of the steel mills segment in the third quarter of 2020 is expected to be similar to the second quarter of 2020,” the firm added.

OPEC+ cuts lead to market rebalancing

According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the decision by OPEC+ earlier this year to cut output has produced a rebalanced market.
“EIA estimates that the OPEC+ agreement, along with declines in production elsewhere, including the United States, brought global supply lower than the level of global demand for the first time since mid-2019,” the EIA reported. “Lower supply than demand has resulted in significant global liquid fuels inventory draws since June.”
Furthermore, the EIA expects oil inventories to continue to decline this year year and in most of 2021.
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