March 27, 2023 • Posted in Daily Bulletin

MH Daily Bulletin: March 27

News relevant to the plastics industry:

At M. Holland

  • M. Holland’s partnership with Lavergne, a global manufacturer of customized compounded engineered resins, was recently shared in Plastics Today. To learn more about this agreement to distribute post-consumer recycled (PCR) resins for customers in North America, click here.

Supply

  • Oil fell Friday, but both benchmarks ended the week higher as turmoil in the U.S. banking sector eased.
  • In mid-morning trading today, WTI futures were up 2.0% at $70.67/bbl, Brent was up 1.7% at $76.24/bbl, and U.S. natural gas was down 5.3% at $2.10/MMBtu.
  • U.S. natural gas prices fell for a third consecutive week as unusually warm weather made a final end-of-winter cold spell unlikely.
  • Economic fears in U.S. markets have sparked unusual volatility in oil prices which experts say has little to do with the fundamental value of crude.
  • Active U.S. oil and gas rigs rose by four last week to a total of 758, according to Baker Hughes.
  • Persistent strikes over state pension reforms at France’s Le Havre port have cut off crude deliveries to Exxon Mobil’s nearby Port Jerome refinery, temporarily shutting the plant down.
The French Tradition of Protesting Pension Reforms

Supply Chain

Domestic Markets

  • An S&P gauge of U.S. business activity rose to 53.3 this month, the highest reading in 10 months, signaling economic expansion driven by the service sector.
  • Though new orders for key U.S.-manufactured goods unexpectedly rose in February, manufacturing activity remains weak.
United States Composite PMI
  • Top U.S. financial officials say the nation’s banking system remains “sound and resilient” despite the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and its impact on regional lenders, whose deposits dropped by a record amount in recent weeks.
  • First Citizens Bank agreed to acquire failed Silicon Valley Bank, easing concerns about a global banking crisis.
  • Remote work is fading: Just under 75% of businesses said their employees teleworked rarely or not at all last year, up sharply from 60.1% in 2021 and near pre-pandemic levels.
  • Demand from plane-makers has soared on the back of surging global air travel, creating fresh openings for private equity investments in aerospace.
  • Bed Bath & Beyond plans to cut about 1,300 more positions in New Jersey, a move that follows a 20% reduction in its corporate and supply-chain staff.
  • The U.S. administration denied a request by JetBlue and Spirit Airlines to operate under common ownership amid ongoing legal challenges to their $3.8 billion merger.

International Markets

Euro Area Composite PMI

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