Bisbee daily review., 1912-02-17
(Boston CommerclalD

(Boston Commercial.)
 Copper Is stronger. Lake is IA 3-S to If 1-2 cents and electrolytic IA IS to 14 3-S cents a pound The report of the Copper Producers association vas unexpectedly favorable, showing i a decrease of 23.174,052 pounds in the American surplus. Including the change in the foreign visible, the worlds copper supplies were reduced 27.011.172 pounds during January. The total visible surplus now stands at l90. 757.443 pounds. which is less than four weeks consumptiye require ments.
 Production and imports, however. amounted to only 1f9,337,753 pounds, which was less than the monthly aver. age of the past two years. Unques. tionably the mine and shelter output has increased 5000. 900 or IO.00O,0Ou pounds monthly, and as this has not yet begun to show in the returns, it indicates some delay at refnery points. There was good reason to eN- pect that production and imports for January would be approximately 130.- 100000 pounds. Both domestic deliy- cries and exports considerably ex- ceeded the average of the two past years. furnishing unquestionable proof that consumption is increasing stead fly.
 Return To Market.
 The buying demand for copper has been very slack for three weeks past; but consumers are again in the mar ket and it would not be surprising fl they forced the price up to 15 cents. Th general improvement in the situa- ton has been so much more rapid than anyone had reason to expect th3t consumers are now showing a disposi- tion to abandon their bearish position and buy sufficient copper to cover their immediate future requirements.
 Even assuming that the present dull ness of general business is 10 con tinUe, there is no reason to doubt that this country will consume consider ably more copper this year than it did last Each of the big electrical manu. featuring companies did record bus mess in 1911. and they now anticipate a further increase this year. This is due to the fact that the so-called pub lie service corporations are prosper ous and are experiencing less ditficul- ty in raising new capital than any oth- CT line of industry, and also 10 the remarkable progress being made in the development of hydro-electric power.
 ! Another factor that will help to in- crease the consumption of copper this year is the promised activity in the building trade Construction materials are cheaper than they have been for . several years. and there is an abund- ant supply of labor available. Contract ors are taking advantage Of these pc tent factors to encourage the building Of homes, etc. The public is not in the stock market. and its surplus, therefore, is available for real estate investments. The advance Of two cents a pound in the price of copper from l2l-4 to l41-4 cents. will not add over per cent to the cost Of covering a roof
 Production Also Grows.
 4 considerable increase of prOduc- ton is under way, such as always charscterlzes the first year of a period of advancing metal prices. There is no instance in the history of the trade. however, where a growing volume of output has any more than temporarily checked an advancing tendency in the price of the metal. Extreme declines in the price of copper have always fol- lowed periods in which 1t has sold so high as to discourage largely. if nos prohibit. it's general use. Low prices for copper have been traceable at all times to this cause and to business depression. when it has feen more or : less general all over the world.
 Whenever long continued cheapness has popularized the use of copper it has never failed to lead up to pro hilitive prices ultimately. The eXpla nation is that there never has been