Low Pressure

Fortnight ago, the price of domestic copper took another drop, from 10-c- to 9-c- a pound. Last week, Mountain Con, one of the two U. S. air-conditioned copper mines, and the Belmont, both at Butte, Mont., were shut down by Anaconda Copper Mining Co. To Anaconda, world's largest producer of copper, the domestic price cut symbolized U. S. Depression. It also marked another downswing in another copper cycle.

During the World War, copper shot to 27-c-, subsequently ranged from 12-c- to 17-c- until the boom in 1929, when it averaged over 18-c-; in 1932 it dropped to 5-c-. Last year, with war abroad and U. S. industry in better shape, the price rose as high as 17-c-. Under this lure, production in the U. S. and abroad rose to high levels. Then demand began to slacken; prices fell; production was curtailed.

Last week, with demand and prices still falling--on the London Metal Exchange copper dipped well below the 9-c- figure--producers shivered, for many a mine goes into the red when copper brings less than 9-c- a pound. Momentary relief came at week's end when German censors, after 15 days' delay, finally released figures on the Reich's copper stocks.* With these in hand, April foreign copper statistics could at last be compiled. These showed that foreign stocks of refined copper were reduced during April from 197,470 to 185,916 tons; that world refined stocks, with American production included, increased only slightly (1.327 tons) in the month. Copper men had thought more was hanging over the market.

Thus copper, an excellent gauge of business pressure, showed foreign industry still moving under good steam. But in the U. S. pressure remained low. The latest Federal Reserve index of industrial production (for April) stood at 17, down two points from March. Statisticians guessed that by last week it had dropped another point or two. Other metals besides copper reflected this trend: Scrap steel and tin were off slightly for the week, lead was down to 4-c- a pound from 4.5-c-.

*Germany dawdles over its war material figures, Japan now makes public no metal statistics at all, Russia gives out only partial data.

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