Aug. 9, 2021 – The market reacted Monday to a more likely interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve on the back of surprisingly good labor market data from the United States. In the EU, stainless steel prices rose again last week. Run on materials and labor in Europe. And U.S. infrastructure package clears key hurdle in Senate.

Facts and figures: Market starts to price in expected US Fed rate hike
Nonfarm payrolls in the U.S. rose by 943,000 in July. This is the largest increase in nearly a year and underscores the robust recovery in the labor market. With the good data and a stronger dollar, the market has already started to price in a more likely rate hike expected this week from the Federal Reserve.
Currently, we expect the market to stabilize again during the week and then continue its upward trend.
EU: Stainless steel prices rose further last week
Due to tight availability and resulting long delivery times, stainless steel prices for flat products in the European Union continued to rise last week.
Summer hole 2021 failed to materialize
As the expected summer hole failed to materialize, reports make it clear that many industrial companies in the EU are working at the limits of their capacity and are struggling with supply bottlenecks, not only in the stainless steel sector. A run on materials and labor has begun in order to meet the excellent order situation in the manufacturing sector.
Source: n-tv.de
US infrastructure package clears key hurdle
U.S. President Joe Biden’s massive infrastructure package worth hundreds of billions of dollars has cleared an important hurdle. The U.S. Senate voted by a majority to end debate on amendments and initiate the final vote on the bill. The vote is now expected by the beginning of the week at the latest. The majority came from votes by Democrats and Republicans.
Source: latimes.com
Read also:
- Stainless Espresso: Lead times for EU steel products in March 2022?
- Stainless Espresso: China increasingly reliant on aluminum imports
- Stainless Espresso: Stainless steel prices fluctuate at a high level

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