“Escalating violence in [Guinea] has forced some of the world’s biggest aluminium producers to shut down operations and threatens to further boost prices of aluminum,” the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. “Big aluminum users are now waiting to see how long the disruptions last. Industry officials say any big price increase from the violence could take some time to filter up through the supply chain, but prolonged disruptions could result in higher costs….prices have gained 8% this week, pushed higher in part by…violence in Guinea.”
Industrial production (IP) at mines, utilities and factories sank 0.5% in January, seasonally adjusted, mirroring a 0.5% rise in December and bringing the 12-month change to 2.6%, the Federal Reserve reported on Thursday. IP in manufacturing, which along with factory capacity utilization can indicate future demand for plant construction, slumped 0.7% in January after climbing 0.8% in December; over 12 months the index was up 1.8%. Output of construction supplies fell 1.0% in January and 2.8% over 12 months. Capacity utilization in manufacturing slipped to 79.6% of capacity, the first time in more than a year that it has been below the long-term average of 79.8%.