New-York tribune., 1907-09-04
PRICE OF COPPER CUT.
Al Summer DeadlOck Bet5Ceen Pro-
ducer and Consumer Near End.

a
1t is expected in well informed quarters that the
| reduction in the price of the metal will break the
| deadlock that has existed all summer between pro-
ducer and consumer, and that large sales of cop
| per will now take place.
No announcenlnt was made in regard TO any
change in the price of lake copper. which generally
sells advance of lac to s4c electrolyuc'
but it expected by the trade that the Calumet
& Hecla company. which is the largest producer
lake copper, would soon place the price at some
where in the neighborhood of 1914 cents a pound
Phelps Dodge & Co the first of the large
selling agencies to quote openly the price OF cleo
trolytic copper at IS cents. A member of the COM
pany said yesterday that it had made sales at
this price September and October delivery, ana
that he expected large sales would be made at
this figure. Whether there would be any further
reduction he was prepared to state definitely.
but said that in his opinion. the limit had been
reached.
The United Metals Selling Company. which han
dies the output of the Amalgamated Copper Com
pany and the American Metal Company, gave no.
tfce to IT'S customers later in day that the
price of electroytc copper was IS cents a pound
1t is expected that similar announcement Will De
made by all the other companies dealing in the
metal
An interest identified with one of the large selling
agencies in speaking of the reduction in the price
of electroytic copper. said:''We have made safes
of copper at IS for September delivery. The
big wire manufacturers and other large buyers are
coming into the market and all the consumers
seem ready to recognize this price. We are openly
quoting IS cents for October delivery. and there
seems question that this is the price that
will rule for time. What the price OF lake
copper will be / do not know, do not handle
Of it, but there is no doubt that it WI" be re
duced TO somewhere the price of electroytc.
You know there is generally margin of difference
of f4c to s4c in favor of the lake product
The representative of another large selling
agency said Copper has been selling at Is cents
for time prior TO the official announcement
of that price to consumers to-day. The reduction
Y1,n ricn oft +I1a
a parity with what 1T is in Europe, where large
sales have been made recently at IS cents Ihere
have been large domestic sales at this price
however, and until the large consumers such as
Charles F. Brooker, president of the American
Brass Company; the United States Steel Corpora
ton the big electric companies and others come
into the market. which they will have TO do short
ly, the price will be unsettled Whether 1t viii
fall below IS cents impossible to say at pres
eut but I do not look for any further reduction
In we'll informed circles 1t said that as the
heavy buying had not yet actually begun there
a strong possibility that when 1t did set IN the
basic price of IS might be improved upon
and that it would be surprise to those IA
miliar with copper affairs IT, in the rush which
expected shortly history should repeat itself
and the buyers bid up the metal TO price beyond
IS cents.
A dispatch from Boston yesterday quoted in
terest, said TO be actively identified with Of
the largest copper companies stating that cop
per not Yet moving in large quantities. and
that when the long deferred buying did come into
the market that It would only be for such supplies
as would take care Of the immediate future. and
that large buying Of futures need be expect
: ed. This interest continued in part as follows,
according 70 the dispatch:
The copper consumer or manufacturer now has
the Whiphand. He knows that the producer Is fac
Ing the problem of financing a steadily growing ac-
stringency whiIe tie banks are not overanxous to
loan on copper collateral except. Of course, at
paIiies, without exception have large amount OF
unsod copper on hand, amounting tho average
l50ooo0Oo pounds in the aggregate. According TO
Selling Company is obliged advance at least 70
per cent OF the value of copper. which ad-
1ances the mining companies pay > per cent.
So long as all the producing companies are In
opinion that the wisest course for them TO pursue
such time as our atcurulated supple. had satIs
field the demand ma I0,aay @ II is hTS qars'1n @ non IN IN
in 9sicienf aIDount To- over orders for rnanufac-
and do not expect radical change in the situation
Now all this may sound strange comin~ from one
and good demand But what IS the use Of f6olng
ourselves? For the moment we are up against Il,
no copper has been sold for the last three months
The Quincy people say they have not sold since
I fear we were deceived to the extent to which
COPPER had been sold up to July Now that an
account Of stock Is being taken we are forced to
is greater than believed could b. possible
A New, York copper interest said It was true
that the stock OF copper held by the producing in
tcrests was in the neenhorhood of 100000 pounds
but said the producers had no trouble carrying
this amount thai It would soon be disposed Of
when the consumers came into the market, they
| must the future
If was said also yesterday by interests identified
with the trade that the requirements for the next
six months would De heavy, Notwithstanding the
| statements that the general business in finished
copper showed a marked reduction In the volume
OF new orders Tile demands on the copper pro-
/ ducers according to these interests have been in
excess of the output. and the producers they said
had been put their utmost TO nee: the calls
upon them.
The Metal Exchange yesterday quoted lake cop
per off Il cent in botl bid and asked prices at 17b
70 e cents Electrolytic quoted at IN cents
bid and 17a cents asked and castings at II to l74
cents
F. A. OFarrell who has for several years been
identified with the F. Augustus Heinze and the
Henze copper interests issued typewriter state
yesterday regarding the copper situation in
the course which he predicted that the price
of the metal would fail 70 y cents pound. owing
mainly to overproduction. He said that the present
price artificial one, Tor which the recent
Russo-Ja Japanese War and the Immediately
preceding II largely responsible, they
tended to up a great deal of copper. Now that
the demand for this account had ceased, he said
copper bound to come down TO its natural
price. which - cents pound, and might go
| to 10 cents to cents.
He divided the people who trying to hold up
the price of copper into three classes First. the
buyers and smeters the ore who, he said. still
had on hand 100000 pounds they had bought at
% cents: second the United Metals Selling Com
pany, which had hand 100000 pounds, which
Il was unable to sell and, third, the consumers
who had bought the metal at % and were
interested in keeping the price until they could
dispose OF their product as otherwise rival manu-
/