Copper

For some months the "statistical position" of copper has been improving. Yet this has happened before, and business refused to become excited over it. Only lately have copper prices begun to reflect increased demand and decreased stocks.

At the beginning of 1925, stocks of refined copper amounted to 272,868,000 pounds. By July, these had shrunk 90,000,000 to 182,652,000 pounds. As for prices, copper began 1925 at slightly over 14-c- a pound, dipped last spring to 13 1/2-c- and recently has recovered to 14 1/4-c-. For several years the price of copper has been unique among commodity prices in that it was below rather than above pre-War prices.

During recent months, domestic consumption of copper has run about 65,000 tons a month; while the electrical industry has been taking less than previously, car-makers and railroads have been buying more. Moreover, the export demand for copper has considerably improved, especially from Germany and to a smaller extent from Britain, Belgium, Italy.

Accordingly, there is a quiet optimism present in the copper industry that has long been lacking. Thus far copper shares have not shown any great advance, and they have too often disappointed Wall Street to be readily taken up by the speculating public. Yet from the standpoint of statistics the copper industry's future appears brighter than it has for many years.