Copper Rises on Durable Goods Numbers
Jul 26th, 2008 | By Doug Casey | Category: Financial News, Gold MarketTrading in the base metals was mixed on Friday as copper and aluminum rose, while zinc, nickel, and lead fell off. Copper was up and down all day, hitting a mid-morning low of $3.69/lb before finishing up 1½ cents at its intraday high of $3.7216/lb.
Nickel was up a little in early trading, but dropped sharply to close the day at $8.2508/lb., down 18 ½ cents. Zinc followed nickel’s lead, posting some early gains that were erased by a mid-morning sell-off. The metal ended down 1 ½ cents, at $0.8229/lb. Aluminum joined copper in the black Friday, overcoming some early losses with a late rally to finish at $1.3261/lb., up ½ cents. Lead traded down throughout the day, closing down almost 2 cents, at $0.9720/lb.
Nickel’s losses were the biggest story on the day as the metal hemorrhaged another 2.2% on concerns that demand from stainless steel producers is decreasing. So far this year, nickel has lost 30%, the worst of any LME traded metal.
“With falling nickel prices we estimate that production of nickel in pig iron may be one of the first to succumb should prices remain at current levels or lower for an extended period,” wrote Charles Cooper of Evolution Securities. Nickel pig iron has increasingly been used as a less expensive alternative to pure nickel over the last year of record-high nickel prices.
Copper news was more optimistic on the day as reports that US durable goods rose by a greater than expected rose 0.8% during the month of June. This helped to ease concerns that an economic slowdown will negatively impact copper demand.
“There’s been so much negative sentiment about the economy that any small piece of good news is positive for copper,” remarked Patrick Chidley of Barnard Jacobs Mellet.
This may not be the end of copper’s losses, however. Chidley continued, “we still really need to see a bottoming in the housing market and some recovery before we see demand really coming back.”
Source: Copper Rises on Durable Goods Numbers
Advertisement
Simply by "Repatriating" the World's Hottest Currencies!
Peter Schiff – outspoken analyst and president of Euro Pacific Capital – has found a wildly profitable "loophole" in the global currency markets. It allows you to easily "repatriate" the hottest foreign currencies into your personal bank account… automatically. When the transactions hit, you can make money. It's that simple.
For details on how you can use Schiff's technique to turn $8,000 into $80,000 every year, like clockwork, please CLICK HERE now.
Doug Casey is a contrarian investor, sought-after public speaker and author of several books. His work "Crisis Investing" held the position of # 1 bestseller on the New York Times list for 26 consecutive weeks. Doug's unusual views on the economy - and just about everything else - have gained a huge following in the investment community, and it certainly helps that his stock recommendations of undervalued junior exploration companies have made his subscribers millions. Now in its 27th year, Doug's monthly newsletter, the International Speculator, is one of the most established and esteemed publications on gold, silver and other natural resource investments. Together with the Casey Energy Speculator, it covers a broad range of carefully selected stocks with the very real potential of double- and triple-digit returns within 12 to 24 months.