Price of copper in China

[Robert]

Sort of like "what's that got to do with the price of tea in China?"...

Check out the 5-year price of copper. It was 75 cents a pound 5 years ago, now it's over $3.50+ a pound! Gone up almost 5 times! That's even faster than houses have gone up.

Why? A large part of that is going to China. Think electrical wire, copper tubing for refrigerators, etc.

http://www.kitcometals.com/charts/copper_historical_large.html#5years

similar thing happened to nickel. Was about $2.50 a pound, now it's pushing $25 a pound! It's going into stainless steel manufacturing etc.

http://www.kitcometals.com/charts/nickel_historical.html


We're all penguins standing on an economic ice floe. China is a big walrus that has appeared out of nowhere and is trying to climb onto the ice floe. The floe (economic status quo) is going to undergo a dramatic shift and there will be a lot of penguins in turmoil. Some will be raised, some will be knocked into the water, but all will be affected. I think these metals prices reflect that to some extent.

(and yes I know walruses are arctic and pengiuns live in the southern hemisphere but "leopard seals" don't have the same visual impact that a walrus has)

[eagames]

Yea they need copper for all sorts of stuff

http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=1678

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=31327

[Rhubarb]

Ed,

Your exactly right. The Company I work for sell's SCR system's. It is a continious rod system that produces 3/8 dia. pure 99.9% copper rod. We have sold 5 ea. to Japan and China along this year. I know this because we make the plaque's to give to the buyer. We also make the Mill Roll's that compress the copper rod to it size. The demand is high overseas for copper so hold on to your cent's.

David

[wavysteps2003]

Now we know why our government has banned exporting more than $100.00 of pennies or nickels from this country. England has also followed suite on this. I expect copper prices to excede $4.00 a pound within the next few months and it will be shortly after that when the copper cent will top out at $ 0.03 a piece. That is when the market will start going a bit crazy and I believe that a lot of the wheat cents will be melted down (including up to 1982).

In the long run, I do not expect the cent or in fact the nickel to last much beyond 2010. Welcome to the era of the $0.10 as the lowest denomination of coin.

BJ Neff

[Rhubarb]

I concur BJ. The copper price's can only go up along with the nickel price's. I don't expect the nickel to rise as quickly the copper.

Back in the middle 70's, my company melted several thousand 52 gallon drum's of cent's. I wish I knew then what I know now.

David

[Dick]

David, In the mid '70's, I was working for ASARCO, in Sahuarita, AZ., and making $3.95/hr., as a miechanic. I believe copper was about $0.19/pound, but don't quote me. I know we were processing .015% copper ore, and shipping 28%pure copper to the refinery. At the same time, they reported making $50 Million in silver per year. No mention was made of the gold. They did ship about 30 boxcars of Moly, a month. I know for a fact that there is much gold in that area. THe northern area, South of the Coconino Plateau, or the Prescott area, Yavapai county, in particular is part of the so-called "Golden Crescent" that takes in the gold rich areas of CA, and AZ, and into the Sierra Madre of Mexico.
Along with the price of copper, and nickel, look for the increase price in gold, silver, and other minerals, (rare earths) to go way out of sight, with the Industrialization of China, and other countries, like India. The space age will soon begin to show what it really will be like, in less than 100 years since its origin. YES, save those wheats, And up to the '82 cents. The rest, give 'em to the collectors! We can make good use of them. The Gov't didn't say we couldn't melt them and make anchors for our "float-boats"! My two zincs worth!
Dick