May 20, 2022 • Posted in Daily Bulletin

MH Daily Bulletin: May 20

News relevant to the plastics industry:

At M. Holland

  • Lindy Holland-Resnick, Market Manager for Packaging at M. Holland, is presenting during the upcoming Re|focus Sustainability & Recycling Summit in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her session on Developing a Sustainably Minded Staff will cover how to create a holistically sustainable company from top to bottom. If you’re attending Re|focus, don’t miss Lindy’s session on Tuesday, May 24 at 11:15 am ET.
  • M. Holland is excited to be the Headline Sponsor for the upcoming Injection Molding & Design Expo in Detroit! This two-day trade show will highlight the latest technologies, materials, equipment and opportunities in injection molding. The event is May 25-26 and admission is free. Click here to learn more.
  • If you’re attending the Injection Molding & Design Expo in Detroit, check out M. Holland’s speakers during the show. Admission is free:
    • Haleyanne Freedman, M. Holland’s 3D Printing Market Manager, will be discussing Open Platform Adoption in Additive Manufacturing. Don’t miss her presentation in the Designing the Future Theater on Wednesday, May 25 at 4:00 pm ET.
    • Josh Blackmore, M. Holland’s Global Healthcare Manager, is facilitating a training seminar on Understanding Material Selection for Medical Devices, from Qualification to Approval. Mark your schedules for this session in the Training and Development Theater on Thursday, May 26 at 9:15 am ET.

Supply

  • Oil prices saw volatile trading Thursday, rising 2.5% on signs of higher demand from China. 
  • In mid-morning trading, WTI futures were up marginally at $112.30/bbl, Brent was flat at $112.00/bbl, and U.S. natural gas was down 3.1% at $8.05/MMBtu. 
  • The average U.S. gasoline prices hit $4.59 a gallon yesterday, the 10th straight daily record as travel approaches pre-pandemic levels. The House of Representatives passed a bill to prevent price hikes during severe market disruptions, which is expected to stall in the Senate. 
  • Spot power and natural gas prices soared to a yearly high in several parts of the U.S. yesterday amid a broad spring heat wave.
  • Low inventories of oil products and a shortage of refining capacity could cause oil shortages in parts of the U.S., analysts say. At least 10 gas stations in eastern Washington state are already sold out of gasoline and some are only selling diesel. 
  • U.S. refiners imported about 1.3 million bpd of crude and fuel oil from Latin America in April, a seven-month high, as buyers worked to replace Russian supplies. 
  • The largest increase in U.S. electricity generation this summer will come from renewable energy sources, the EIA predicts:
EIA expects solar and wind to be larger sources of U.S. electricity generation this summer
  • Centennial Resource Development will acquire Colgate Energy to create a $7 billion giant focused exclusively on the U.S. Permian Basin. 
  • Total production in the U.S. Delaware Basin, the top-producing play in the Permian, will hit a record 5.7 million bpd-equivalent in 2022, according to Rystad: 
Permian Delaware annual production growth by hydrocarbon and total output

Supply Chain

Domestic Markets

How Inflation Changed the Price of a Hamburger

International Markets

  • COVID-19 fatalities fell 21% last week while cases rose in most parts of the world, the WHO said. 
  • Shanghai found its first new COVID-19 cases outside quarantine areas Friday, triggering stricter curbs and mass testing in one district. 
  • Taiwan’s daily COVID-19 infections topped 90,000 for the first time yesterday.
  • British health officials are recommending a new round of COVID-19 boosters for vulnerable populations before the fall. 
  • Health officials across the EU met with vaccine makers to discuss amendments to contracts amid waning demand for the shots. 
  • More news related to the war in Europe:
  • China’s central bank unexpectedly cut a key interest rate in a policy shift that economists say could help its beleaguered housing market while only bringing limited relief to its economy. China’s fiscal stimulus could surpass $5 trillion this year, equaling roughly a third of the nation’s economy. 
  • At 2.8%, U.S. economic growth is expected to outpace that of China for the first time since 1976 this year. 
  • Consumer prices in Japan rose at a pace above 2% for the first time in more than 13 years in April. 
  • British consumer confidence is at a 48-year low, new data shows. 
  • Developing countries are expected to see the worst inflation rates this year at an average of 8.7%, according to the IMF:
The Global Inflation Outlook

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