Despite the pick-up in consumpion, overall US petroleum demand is 1.2 million barrels per day below the high of September 2007, according to Scotiabank. Global petroleum demand has also turned the corner, advancing year over year in August for the first time since July 2008.
Forest products
Forest products were up 2.4 per cent, as the normal late-summer pick-up in US building material prices and stronger pulp prices offset weakness in newsprint and other paper.
A weak US dollar and strong demand in China are lifting international pulp prices, with pulp delivered to the US rising from US$700 per tonne in July to US$730 in August and US$770 in September (the highest since November 2008). Several pulp lines are being re-started on Vancouver Island, according to the report.
Agriculture
The agricultural index fell by 7.1 per cent in August, as lower wheat, barley, livestock and fish prices more than countered firmer canola prices.
Seasonal harvest pressure pushed down the Canadian Wheat Board’s asking export price for No. 1 grade milling wheat from US$291 per tonne in July to US$265 in August and US$256 in mid-September.
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