European shares slipped back from a 10-month closing high on Wednesday, as investors took profits, even as German and U.S. economic data continued to point to recovery.
The oil price is stubborn, like a two-year-old who refuses to eat his mashed peas. Despite all evidence that the market is well supplied, oil is over $70 a barrel again as I write. Taking the view out to the horizon, though, I think it will go higher and will drag the price of most commodities higher in its wake.
With the incredible amount of interest in buying gold and investing in commodities, Investment U has turned to Money Morning commodities expert Peter Krauth to give an idea on where we are in regards to their historic cycles and how investors can take advantage of where we are right now…There’s never been a better time to begin investing in commodities.
Base metals were (mostly) slightly higher on Thursday. Copper gained 6.35 cents to close at $2.2069/lb. Nickel fell by nearly 2 cents to finish at $6.7139/lb. Zinc was little changed, ending at $0.6780/lb. Aluminum rose by nearly a cent, closing at $0.7014/lb., while lead moved to $0.7319/lb., up more than half a cent from the previous session.
There’s never been a better time to invest in commodities. That’s a very simple statement, but it’s backed by three powerful points:
The base metals were mostly lower on Thursday. Copper sank from the pre-dawn hours to mid-morning, bottoming at $2.24, but rallied back from there to finish at $2.2754/lb., down more than 3½ cents.
China has stopped stockpiling metals, according to reports in the Chinese media. Will this put the cap on the recent strength in base metals prices? The AFP reports that, “China has been building its inventories of metals, including 235,000 tonnes of copper, over recent months, Caijing magazine reported on its website over the weekend, citing Yu Dongming, an official with the state economic planner.”
Iron Ore Rising… Is the current rally in stocks is just a bear market variety, or is it the real thing? The debate has been going on for quite some time now…
The base metals were mostly a bit lower on Tuesday. Copper climbed from the pre-dawn hours to mid-morning in New York, peaking north of $2.30 before falling as steeply as it rose and finishing $2.2426/lb., down a bit less than 2¼ cents.
The base metals took another bath in blood on Monday. Copper plunged from the pre-dawn hours to the New York open, rallied back to mid-morning, but then sold off again to finish just off its intraday lows at $2.2643/lb., down 8 cents.