As we put the first month of 2012 behind us - Wow, time does fly! - we start to get the some of the first key indicators of the New Year this week.  We started to see glimpses of light from the economy and demand sectors as 2011 ended; hopefully the first month of 2012 continues that trend.

Here is what I am watching this week:

1. The biggest release of the week is arguably the Employment Situation report on Friday.  After adding 200,000 jobs in December and the unemployment rate sliding to 8.5%, continued improvement is a must.
2. A couple of key demand indicators are out this week as well, both January light vehicle sales and January construction spending out on Wednesday.  With 2011 being the strongest year for the auto sector since 2008, a strong start to 2012 will help keep the momentum.
3. The manufacturing industry has a couple key releases this week as well.  Tuesday brings us the Chicago PMI, which helps lead into the National ISM Manufacturing Index on Wednesday.  The ISM index has been above the benchmark of 50, which signifies growth, for 29 consecutive weeks.
4. Another key indicator out during this busy week is the Consumer Confidence report on Tuesday.  The biggest key to the economic recovery is the confidence of the consumer and with Tuesday‘s reading, we will get a could indication for the state of the economy in H1 2012.

As always stay close to the (C)ORE Blog to keep up with everything that is happening involving the steel industry.