Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-07
Copper Prices Rising
I'm Postwar Recovery
ny HARDEN COLFAx.

With copper prices trying for peace
time altitude record. and some Of the
consuming industries inclined to glare
suspiciously ct one another In their ef-
forts to Ak responsibility for the situa-
ton, the metals markets are bidding
for share Of the spotlight Of excite
ment which has been concentrated upon
the stock exchanges.
In the opinion Of many economists,
much OF the present situation Of cop
per II purely psychOl0gic something
Certainly, the metal for thu last few
months has been ia . sellers market.
No doubt exists, however, that the
demand for copper for consumption has
been increasing steadily. The automo-
bile, public utility. radio and refrizera-
ton industries large consumer
have been going forward In their re-
quirements. From q haggard heggar In
the postwar era, the copper industry
has come to the point where II at least
can write its current accounts in black
ink.
The general public Is not paying more
for Its products which contain copper
the higher prices are being absorbed
from the profits Of the manufacturers
Of copper-content products or are re-
nected In higher construction costs Of
new or rebuilt public utilities.
Within . year, copper prices have
advanced 30 per cent Refined copper
last week went above a. cents per
pound, the highest since the war, when
1t went to IS cents and dropped soon
under Government price control. The
price last week slightly exceeded quo
tnt3na0 aIatrNattaasra xr,1At L. sss4n
changeable with copper for many uses
to which the latter iS put. The alumi-
mum price Is fairly well stabilized at
24.3 cents per pound. Substitution would
appear to act Is . brake on q much
higher price for copper, but machinery
Tor greater production Of aluminium Is
not likely to be installed for q tempo
rary squirt In demand, and for several
months the output Of aluminium has
,, been 100 per cent OF the capacity and
u u said the product Is sold Ave months
in advance. The rise In copper also has
helped the lead market to some extent.
4 = y 4
What appears to have happened In
copper Is q result OK lack OF expansion
OF productive capacity since the war
owing 10 market none too encouraging
to investors, coupled with increasing
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can copper producers were left with
some 600, 600, 600 pounds Of the metal
on. hand In the form Of repudlated
contracts. Through intensive selling
abroad. this stock was worked on, but
at prices which made the industry cau-
tious about large stocks on hand. Hand
| to-mouth buying became the custom Of
purchasers IN al lines after the defia-
ton period The copper industry
operated about equal to It's demand for
| Ice product, refiners keeping inventories
low. IN 1921. copper was quoted at II. 3
cents q pound and was q drug on the
market. by 1898, 1t had recovered to
1877 cents per pound. then there were
slight says. For the last Is months. the
tendency has been upward, accumulated
greatly since the beginning Of 1879.
During 1913, the statistics OF the IN
! dustry showed that stocks Cf copper n
the world were decreasing and copper
is 70 be viewed IS q world commodity,