The copper era., 1911-05-26
COPPER MARKET
SHOWS GOOD SIGN
OF IMPROVEMENT
Shares Have Shown Conspicuous
Strength Following the Handing
Down of the Standard Oil De.
cisiOn by the Supreme Court.

Geo. L. Walker. in his weekly cop
per letter, under date of May 20th
writes as follows:
at the end of lest week. copper b
came slightly more active and frmti
Lake is now l2t TO 12g cents, an,
-lectrolytic is l2I to 124 cents :;
pound. The apparent revival o
business confd nee, due to tn
Standard Oil decision by the suprem
cotrt. is bringing new inquiries int
the market. Consumers generally
recognize that business boom il
the United States unquesrionabl.
would carry the price of copper
higher and they are, therefore, will
ing to buy at current prices for
delivery two or three months hence
Notwithstanding the larger eX
ports last month, the foreign visible
supply of copper showed decrease
If 1864, 100 pounds in the first half of
1
52O pounds in April, this brings the
foreign surplus down to $3.50, 400
pounds, which is the smallest total
since June, 1909. European consump-
zion is very heavy aud appears to b.
Increasing. If supplemented by a
strong domestic demand, such as will
occur in the event of general re
.umption of industrial activity in the
United States, no considerab bic period
would be required to absorb the
existing surplus and put the metal
market on a thoroughly healthy
oasis. 1t is not improbable, there
lore, that the market NAV
strengthen sufficiently in the coming
week or two to carry the price up
10 I2a cents again, and possibly
aigher.
spicuous strength following the
handing down of the Standard Oil
lecision by the supreme court The
tension of doubt and uncertainty in
inlncial circles has been relieved.
Reconstruction of public confidence
,s now in the initial stage, and
speculation is beginning to discount
big improvement in general busi-
+ less. Security prices will probably
ontinue to advance for at least two
,r three weeks, and probably for
several months.
Those who choose to gauge the cop
,er share market by existing metal
conditions stand very little chance,
in my opinion, to make much OF any
nuney in the xt big speculative
tdvance. 1 receive letters from peo
Jle all over the country deploriug
the existing copper surplus, condem-
hing mine managements for prOduc-
ug so much and declaring it the in
rention of the writers to buy stocks
after the metal situation is all right
again. Some express a determin
alton to wait until coDpers have
mother big advance and then 90
short, apparently entirely over
ooking the possibility of making
profits on the rise they assume will
take place before the time for short
selling arrives. The metal market
will be strong again one of these
lays; but the rise in copper share
prices will precede it by months, and
possibly year, for speculation
always discounts business improve
ment far in advance
The rise in prices this week has
probably added the greater part of
BOO, 900, 00) to the market value Of
the copper shares held by the public.
This increase in assets, or collateral
values, puts great many people in a
position to buy more coppers, and
some of them will do 50. Com
paratively little buying Will be re-
quired to bring about d further big
advance ia prices, for the market
has been thoroughly liquidated. and
the owners of copper stocks as a rule
are now determined TO hold them
until they sell very much higher