Mohave County miner and our mineral wealth., 1922-11-24
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 |kAbSUN, Statistician
 ID on Business Conditions

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 18th, 1922. Copper stocks have been showing more life of late and evil dence a tendency to act quite inde- pendent of the rest of the market. Roger w. Babson accounts for this change by calling attention to shift in the conditions which control the copper industry.
 "The copper stocks, says MT. Bab- son, "like any others are governed by a combination of the conditions in the security market and the factors that control the production and consump- tion of copper.
 "The industry" continues MT. Bab- son, Hike any others are governed by combination of the conditions in
 the security market and the factors that control the production and con- sumption of copper.
 '"The industry" continues MT. Bab- son, "is now in better position than it has been for the past four years. In other words, it has taken the indus try practically this length of time to recover from the abnormal producing conditions and heavy stocks built up during the war years. Due to the continuance of heavy stocks which, at the high point in 1919, amounted to over one billion pounds, production has been radically curtailed. Prices have slumped from the wartime price of 3Sc for electrolytic copper to low point of 12c reached about a year ago. The industry has suffered in the present period of readjustment to a greater extent than probably any other important industry.
 "The fact that copper in its man. Lufactured forms has excellent wearing qualities has worked to the disadvan- tage of the industry during the past two or three years. For example, in the case of ammunition abroad, all of the shell was destroyed except the copper cartridge. This, as you re- member, was used again and again and at the end of hostilities, large stocks of unused brass and copper cartridges went for industrial pur- poses. Reclaimed supplies are now greatly diminished so that the de- mand for new copper will gradually increase from now on.
 Production has been gradually in- creasing since the first of the year. Production during the war years av- eraged we'll over 150 million pounds monthly. Compare this with an out put during 1921 averaging under 25 million pounds monthly. In fact, even exports last year were materially heavier than the total United States production. Production at the present time is averaging about 85 million pounds monthly. Exports have tend ed to increase and are around 65 mill lion pounds each month. Domestic consumption is also increasing so that the statistical position of the indus try is relatively strong. This does not promise any radical comeback but rather that the worst is over and that the long pull outlook is much better than it has been for a num- Der of years. This change will bring about better profits for the larger, lSw-cost copper companies.
 "The producing capacity of the in dustry is still large so that any in- crease in price tends to stimulate production. This, in turn, causes the market to weaken. The reason for the slump in most copper stocks around the first of November was clear enough. The rate of importa- tion from South America for a mat ter of months has been increasing. Our southern neighbor can produce at low cost, much lower than domestic companies a fact that has been hold ing the domestic price down. Their producing capacity, however, is dis tinctly limited and as demand in- creases they will no longer set the market. The price of electrolytic copper has been fluctuating around 14c for number of months. Demand during 1928 should tend to strengthen the market, altho production will be sufficiently large to supply this de- mand. In the. event of good build ing year in 1923, the demand for cop per will improve. It should total at least as much as this year, and con-