The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-06-25
ANOTHER VIEW OF
COPPER SITUATION
Engineering and Mining Jour
nal Sees No Present Cause
for Rejoicing.
LOOKS LIKE LOWER
MARKET Is LOGICAL
Increased Output Is Taken as
Important Bear Point
for Future.

The following rather pessimlstic view
of the copper outlook will be of inter
est, especially since it comes from the
Engineering and Mining Journal, be-
ing an editorial in the June l9 num-
Der:
"The report Of the Copper Producers
association for May was received gen
orally in an optimistic way, but anaiy-
sis of the figures does not seem to us
to afford any substantial basis for Joy
The accumulated stock was reduced by
about 13,500,000 pounds, but 1T does
not by any means follow from this that
the production OF copper is now being
used up faster than it is being turned
out, On the contrary, the reduction oil
the accumulation in the hands of the
retincrs implies chiefly a transfer OF
the metal from one place TO another:
Tho exports IN May were upward OF
70,000,000 pounds. a high figure. What
was happening is reflected by the Euro,
pean statistics for May, which showed
an increase of about l2,20e000 pounds
IN the visible supply.
Deducting the exports from the de-
liverieS, there remains upward OF co.
100000 pounds that must have gone
into second hands on tins side, or was
to some extent on lighters awaiting
export. 1t is, of course. utterly IN
credible that domestic consumption has
yet reached the figure of 60,000,000
pounds per month. which would be
higher than the best on record, I'm
doubtedly some large manufacturers
took a great deal of copper into their
yards during May, providing for re
quircments for some time ahead. This
is another way of transferring stocks.
The ominous feature about the sta
tistics for May is the continued in
crease in the production, which aver
aged 3,SlS,000 pounds per day, against
3,7S5,Sl0 pounds in April The ratio
Of increase was larger in May than it
was in April. 1t is well known that
some large consumers of copper have
taken In their requirements for many
months ahead. The actual consump-
ton of the world Will have to make
further strides in order to take cave
of the steadily increasing production
and bring about real diminution Of
stocks
"The real condition of affairs is re
6ccted in the weakness of the market
this week. Consumers have been well
supplied and producers have much cop
per yet to sell The visible supply at
the middle Of June, as cabled from
abroad, shows a large increase, and
the statistics at the end of the month
viii doubtless show a further augmcn-
tation.
The following from Hayden. Stone &
Co. will be of interest in this connec-
tion:
''Our reports from London indicate
tkuf bo oCfirn 1nn lorc in al
market there are very skcptical regard
ing the maintenance of the present
price of copper. The increase in the
visible supply in England aud France
and atloat thereto, in the month of
May, naturally produced a bearish i'm.
preston over there. We have been
rather surprised, however. in meeting
some of our friends from the brass con
suming district of Connecticut, to find
that they. are also rather doubtful as
10 the maintenance of the present price
of copper. Some Of the brass factories
IN Connecticut are running full while
perhaps the largest of them all is re-
puted to be running to so per cent of
its capacity, We hear that the figures
of copper wire output are also very
encouraging. Still, trade in general is
developing very slowly, and that is
true OF the consumption of copper as
OF otner bfancneSs ana perhaps we
ought not to be surprised that mer-
chants, whose interest it is to have
moderate, If not low, prices for copper,
are somewhat easily inclined 10 SEQ the
lower view Of the market
However, on the other hand, we get
some very interesting testimony from
those who arc thoroughly competent |
We think, to make estimates Of con.
sumption of the metal We have heard |
twice from some Of the best merchants |
IN copper IN this country, in the way
Of estimates of the relation Of actual
melting OF copper TO production. In |
both cases the opinion was gwen that
the melting of copper, taking the world |
as q whole. must be very near tho |
world S production And both aurhori- |
ties were inclined TO look upon The |
melting of copper as a quantity gain
ing more rapidly than the production.
at the present time
con the whole we believe that these
statistics, and such other evidence as
we can get hold of. point first. 10 a
moro comfortable distribution % the
burden of carrying copper between pro
ducers and consumers: and second, To
an actual consumption of copper Of
perhaps 90 per cent of the production
with the consumption gaining more rap
IDLY than the production If these con
dltIons hold for u very shot 5mc. the
result cannot be other thar advanced |
fn, h..