Bisbee daily review., 1908-01-25
CONSUMERS
 STAY OUT FUR
 LONG PERIOD
Never Before In History Of Copper Industry Have Users Neglected Purchase For the Same Length of Time.

Never before in the history of the copper. industry have the consum- CTS so long stayed out of the mar ket in the purchase of supplies for future delivery, says the Boston News Bureau. While. of course. cop per is being sold and ilas been sold tn fair volume for some months, the manufacturer has been reluctant to venture very far into the future, and has seldom bought his copper beyond 90 days requirements. It Is now nearly nine months since copper has sold in volume for future delivery.
 This can, of course, mean but one thiag-that the supplies of copper in the hands of domestic manufac- turers have been reduced to the minimum This is not the situation abroad, however. The foreign manu- facturer. always willing to take a speculative chance-at least more disposed to do so than the American znanufacturer-is stocked up for months ahead. and this explains in large degree the enormous exports from this side in the past three months.
 During this period the foreign buy CTS have taken 100000. 900 pounds of American copper, an amount about equal to the United States production.
 While the raw copper supplies of the American manufacturer are on a rock bottom basis, his shelves are still piled high with manufactured goods made from 9 cent copper, and these goods must be sold on the basis of IA cent copper. This hurts, and it operates to make the buyer exceed ingly cautious in making commitments for more copper.
 In time, however, this timidity will wear away and the banker will give the retailer who buys from the manufacturer a reasonable time Of credit, the absence of which has done not little to paralyze the movement of brass and copper wares during the past three months
 A resumption of activity among the copper mills would find the pro ducing copper mine- the selling agencies and the manufacturers them selves. bare of any accumulation, and any sudden movement and concentrat- ed buying movement might quickly advance copper prices one or two cents per pound, if not more. but such
 
 an advance, however, might quickly meet importations of the metal from the other side of the water by those manufacturers who have evidently oy- erbought.
 It should not be forgotten that at the present ime the American continent is not producing within soc, eco, 900 pounds of the output re- corded a year ago This amount is 25 per cent of the American con tinental output in good times, and IS destined to be a mighty factor in has tening a return of normal conditions. 1t would take between four and six months-this being the time consum- ed in reducing the ore on the ground Go saieabiiity in the form of copper before it would be possible to again increase the pesent output by the 300, ,000. 900 pounds now withheld from the market.
 At the moment, consumers in this country are making more inquiries for options on copper than have beer noted for many weeks, and as a re suit there is a slight stiffening in quoted prices, and the best grades oi lake command IA to IS cents. We have heard of some very significant buying by American manufacturers within fae past 48 hours.