ISRI Monday Report-For the week beginning Monday May 6th

Commodities got off to a lackluster start this week following the rally on Friday as the DJ-UBS Commodity Futures Index was off 0.3% this morning.

While the LME is closed today for a bank holiday, prices in Asia played catch-up as SHFE Sep copper settled 4.4% higher in Shanghai today.

In New York, COMEX Jul copper eased half a cent to just under $3.31/1b in early afternoon trading while gold and crude oil futures edged up to around $1,470/to and $961bb1, respectively.

On Wall Street, the Dow Industrials were treading water after having traded above 15,000 on Friday while the dollar firmed to $1.307 vs. the Euro and 99.36 Japanese Yen.

Following the recent barrage of economic releases, the calendar cools off this week with relatively few reports due out on consumer credit, wholesale inventories, initial unemployment claims and the budget. Overseas we'll get new figures from China on their trade balance and inflation in April, while a number of Federal Reserve officials will be giving speeches around the country this week, including Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech at the Chicago Fed banking conference on Friday. We'll have a look at the key economic, commodity and scrap market developments, including a closer look at U.S. first quarter scrap exports by commodity, in this week's Friday Report.

*prices include all taxes

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ISRI Spec of the Week:

From ISRI’s Scrap Specifications Circular 2013, Guidelines for Nonferrous Scrap:

Zurik SHREDDED NONFERROUS SENSOR SORTED SCRAP

(predominantly stainless steel)

Shall be made up of a combination of the nonferrous metals: stainless steel, insulated copper wire,aluminum, copper, lead, magnesium, nickel, tin,and zinc, in elemental or alloyed (solid) form. The percentage of each metal within the nonferrous concentrate shall be subject to agreement between buyer and seller. Material generated by computer sensing equipment (e.g., induction sensor sorting or X-ray) technique(s). Shall have passed one or more magnets to reduce or eliminate free iron and/or large iron attachments. Shall be free of radioactive material, dross, or ash. Material to be bought/sold under this guideline shall be identified as “Zurik”with a number to follow indicating the estimated percentage nonferrous content of the material (e.g.,“Zurik 90” means the material contains approximately 90% nonferrous metal content). May also be screened to permit description by specific size ranges.

© 2013 Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc.