Bisbee daily review., 1904-02-28
Walkers Weekly
 LETTER ON
 Market Conditions
COPPER STRENGTHENED AT THE
 END OF LAST WEEK.
Producing and Selling Interests Well Pleased With Outlook for Good Ranee of Prices for Copper This vear-consumption Fully Keeping Up With Produetion-Priee, 12 1-2c, Strong.

Strong.
 The following is what Walker has .o say. in his weekly copper letter. re xarding the condition of the metal market during the past week:
 Copper prices strengthened at the end, of last week. and sales have since been made al a full quarter cent per pound, advance over the quotations presented Tn last weeks letter. Lake copper is HOW 12 1-2 to 12 5-Sc, and eleetrolytic is 12 3-S to 12 1-2c. The new buying demand, which is respon. x1ble for the firmer prices, comes from both home and foreign consumers There are large number of buyers ready to take considerable lots of cop per at 12 te i2 lie. This fact IS known; and when the price gets be low I2 i-2c there is always a new in xlow of orders.
 The foreign market was decidedly stronger at the beginning of the week, but during the past few days has shown a sagging tendency. European consumers are again becoming skep' sicaI. as is shown by the fact that spot delivery copper now sells 15 shil- ling higher than futures. A few weeks ago spot and futures were selling at She same price. In view of the recent very heavy exports of copper it would naturally be expected that spot copper would be pressing for sale, as the cost Gf carrying copper is by no means xmalI. Therefore the fact that spot & so much higher than futures furn- lshes conclusive proof that the recent Aeayy shipments went to consumers and also that there is practically no speculative copper offering in the TOT x1gn market.
 Producing and selling interests are very well pleased with the outlook Sor a good range of prices for copper this year. United Metals Selling peo- pse say that they are able to sell cop ger at F l-2e, :hst they find consump- ton keeping fuiiy up with production snd tha. they think 12c per pound the sock-bot,om price for the present al least. Another leading copper man nays that he considers that 12c IS equivalent now to what Sc was ten years ago The prices of practically Al other commodities are much higher How than they were ;n the '93 and ,s4 .Hanic times. He also expresses the belief that four or five years hence 13c vill be the bottom of the market on fhe bad declines, and that perhaps Sen years hence copper will stop at 74c on it's downward movements. 9th erwise stated, he thinks that copper vin work higher steadily, that read sustment of values is underway in the xnetal trades and that 1t will especially heneft copper producers.
 There has been some falling of n Sbe domestic consumption of copper. Enough several of the Connecticut Galley brass mills are still running nights. they are not melting as much copper as they have averaged during lhe past TWO years. One or two con GGfnA anly four to five days weekly The krass business, however, like the iron and steel trade. is not as flat now as St threatened 70 be three or four months ago There was for time a sharp falling of in the volume of Hew orders, but more recently the or aers have begun to come in again.
 Coppers have been. on the whole, fhe dulIest stocks on the market dur mg the present week. Prices have rtot changed sufficiently to deserve zpecial notice. The arguments in fa- xor of higher prices for copper stocks are apparently not strong enough to arouse an apatbetic public and draw dhe tardy purses from it's pockets. Who x1n name a railroad or an industrial company that will be at all likely 10 Increase it's dividend rate within the coming two years? Fully one-nalf 1f the leading copper producing com Panies are almost sure to pay larger dividends this year or next than they paid last year. Practically none of fhe copper producing companies are Borrowing any money, and no more gre likely 10 want to borrow. Where 6 there railroad company that ever more than paid back the total amount Invested in its lines, equipment, etc? There are several copper mines that Nave paid back from twice to seventy ames the total original investment. And speaking of investments. the ipgic of the situation says that the time is certainly here to at least be- ain making investments in copper saining stocks.