Jim,
From the nonferrous side, which has been a worry:
newsteel.com
Copper prices have recovered somewhat from last year's collapse because of the Sumitomo trading scandal. The average Comex price for copper in the quarter was $1.02 per pound, compared with 91 cents in the year-ago quarter. "Worldwide copper consumption is running at a higher-than-expected 4.2-percent growth rate for an annualized total of 15.4 million tons," Prudential Securities says.
"Demand for copper as a result of strong economic growth in the U.S., Europe, and many developing countries is expected to push the copper market back into a supply deficit in 1998," says Richard de J. Osborne, Asarco's chairman. "We expect that the fundamentals for copper will continue to be favorable."
Also from same article:
Nucor earned $79.98 million in the quarter, up from $57.89 million in the same period last year. Revenues increased to $1.1 billion from $937 million. Preoperating and startup costs, including costs for a new structurals mill in Berkeley, S.C., and a new cold mill in Hickman, Ark., were $12.3 million in the quarter. For the first nine months of 1997, Nucor shipped 7.3 million tons of steel, compared with 6.3 million tons a year ago.
stephen |
