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Post by gijoe9 on Feb 26, 2006 18:41:57 GMT -6
The construction boom in the US of the past few years and the boom in China and India have maxed copper supply. The copper minning companies are going like crazy to catch up. I followed a copper stock for the last five years called PCU southern copper 5 yrs ago they were trading around $12-13 per share now they are at 81-82 a share. The price of copper in that time has gone from $0.80 to around $2.25 a pound. The question is does the price of copper go up or down from here? Any thoughts about the future of this metal? please post thanks.
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Post by lc on Feb 26, 2006 20:11:31 GMT -6
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Post by graybeard on Feb 26, 2006 21:02:32 GMT -6
The govt took copper out of new penny minting when it became a loser. There are 170 cents to a pound. The cent is mostly zinc now, and zinc has gone from about $.56/lb to $.95/lb. How much higher will it have to go before the govt stops minting pennies?
China is sucking up raw materials at record levels, and shows no sign of abating. They are also buying big into Latin America. FLATX, Fidelity Latin America Fund, is up 70% from a year ago. GB
If you look back 3 or more years, you will see copper shot up a couple of years ago, and zinc just last year. Zinc is the 8th most common mineral. Either one has to be a far better bet than GE or Google. GB
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Post by gijoe9 on Feb 28, 2006 15:19:28 GMT -6
The govt took copper out of new penny minting when it became a loser. There are 170 cents to a pound. The cent is mostly zinc now, and zinc has gone from about $.56/lb to $.95/lb. How much higher will it have to go before the govt stops minting pennies? China is sucking up raw materials at record levels, and shows no sign of abating. They are also buying big into Latin America. FLATX, Fidelity Latin America Fund, is up 70% from a year ago. GB If you look back 3 or more years, you will see copper shot up a couple of years ago, and zinc just last year. Zinc is the 8th most common mineral. Either one has to be a far better bet than GE or Google. GB Goog took a hit today goes to show how loose lips sink ships. I think you are right about the Chinese and the latin american conection is evident from the rise in some of the ADR's from there that relate to construction commodities steel and copper. Did not know about the penny mint thing but was wondering about that when I started looking into copper a while back thanks for the info. Was wondering if we see a repeat of the fenom from the early 80,s when people were melting down silver coins for the content. Think we will see that with copper pennies? I read I thing about manhole covers in Peking and how half of them have been stolen for scrap steel production and this is becoming a huge problem for the city. What next removing Rails from the mass transit??? Canablization of resources on this kind of scale does not bode well for the Chinese economy IMO. Just my random thought for today:)
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Post by graybeard on Mar 1, 2006 0:29:01 GMT -6
Wikipedia has the info and links to details. Actually the last silver in our coins, save for the dollar, IIRC, was 1964. You don't need to melt coins, which is illegal, BTW, to get full value for the metal. You just need to sort the silver or copper from the slag, so to speak. Silver coins. like gold coins, are traded at full value, based on their content. There's no reason not to trade copper pennies the same way, save for the weight and bulk for the value.
The Communist Chinese economy is a whole 'nuther topic. Keep in mind: they have over $800 Billion US in the bank, and not the other way 'round. GB
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Post by Dan Gilmore on Mar 1, 2006 7:43:42 GMT -6
:Re:Copper Prices,:I dont know exactly what has happened to copper prices recently other than what I hear & see but I am an Electrical Contractor and I can definitely tell you that in the last two months the price of wire that we use in New England for our jobs has at least DOUBLED in the last two months,this will effect not only us,but The total cost of new housing & Commercial construction etc in general,I am not the smartest cookie in the jar but I would guess that investing in copper right now could be Very Profitable Venture if this price trend continues,I know that it has Really put a hurt on the construction industry in our area,We check area wire prices almost daily and have been shocked at what we are finding recently,In my 25-30 years some odd years as an electrician,I have NEVER seen wire prices this high.....somthing needs to change soon or there will be a domino type effect that we have never seen before in the construction Industry,The only electrical contractors that are making any money this month in our area are the ones who had not yet bid the jobs they are on or the ones who already had huge supply's of wire in stock and already paid for,(They Could actually double their money right now if they sold that wire at current pricing.)I just thought I would throw in my two cents opinion for what it is worth.Thanks for listening. Dan Gilmore-Electrical Contractor- www.gilmoreelectrical.com
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Post by unlawflcombatnt on Mar 1, 2006 21:19:18 GMT -6
Dan, Thanks for your input. This copper price increase is new to me. Though prices for both precious and non-precious metals have increased greatly over the last 6 months, it sounds like copper has increased far more. There must be something else happening with copper. You might be able to find some more up-to-date information at Kitco.com. You could try this link to their forum: www.kitcomm.com/index.php?s=fffc2c98912a5bf027dec6e8e61c02a1
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Post by lc on Mar 1, 2006 23:27:08 GMT -6
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Post by liberalcapitalist on Aug 24, 2006 8:29:41 GMT -6
Copper and other base metals have ben in demand by China and other developing countries for the last couple of years.I,too,work in a feild related to electrical and have been involved with recycling on several levels,including copper scrap,which has become one of the most profitable areas lately. with the minier strike in Chile and the demand for copper still high,and countries like China and India building infrastructure,we may see copper prices stay fairly high for quite some time. here is a link to recycling prices for base metals,batteries,plastics and other recyclable commodities- www.recycle.net/
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Post by unlawflcombatnt on Aug 25, 2006 17:02:40 GMT -6
Thanks for the link. The price links for metals appear pretty useful.
In contrast, the links to medical products are typically evasive on prices. For example, not a single price was listed for pulse oximeters by any of the medical suppliers. Unfortunately, that's pretty typical of medical suppliers.
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