Show MARKET VIEWS I ON COPPER MET METAL At Conditions Considered Favor Favorable Favorable able for Renewed Strength in Copper Shares Hayden Haden Stone Slone Co ot of Boston reviews the copper metal and share metal market as as follows Ve are receiving continually so many Inquiries regarding the general copper metal situation that we think a short resume of the metal situation as It has appear appeared d to us duri g the past eighteen months may be of general Interest We Wedo Wedo do not propose to speak from the stand standpoint standpoint point of either the producer or the con consumer sumer but to give gle an unprejudiced view or of the facts as Ve digest them from con conversations conversations during that period of time with people who we believe bellee know and In whom we have confidence Up tp to about eighteen months ago ow owIng owing Ing to what was then considered a fairly high price for copper around 18 1 to 18 cents the manufacturers were purchasing in rather small quantities that Is no I large amounts In advance Along in the summer of BOG 1006 there was a general feel feelIng feeling Ing among this class of people that con consumption consumption was rapidly Increasing without any corresponding increase In production and the price rapidly nd advanced with In Increasing increasing creasing excitement culminating March larch 1907 This rapid advance however we ve do donot donot not believe was especially welcomed b by bythe the producers and was brought b by bythe the competitive bidding of consumers Why Business Has Let Up BusIness continued very large until the recent monetary disturbances of ast March when business fell of off almost Im Immediately Immediately mediately to a very great degree and tIlls this falling off was especially noticeable in the wire mills A group of three of the leading selling agencies seemed quite generally to concur In that gen general general eral business was so large and the pros prosperity prosperity or of the country so great that thaC a lapse or of a few months would rectify the monetary situation and bring about a re resumption resumption or of consumption to a volume to what had bad been existing dur during during ing th the last year The Question or of production does not need to be considered till 1908 There have been Jeen no large new producers enter the field nor will there be for some time and In fact the question of transportation or of coal coke and supplies the inferiority or of labor and In some casEs the last years heavy heay production ot of ores which has led to the necessity of tr treating lower grade ores this year has resulted in the northwest at least In Inan inan an actual decrease in production Nearly early four months have elapsed now since the felling ot off of business in March Marchand and consumption has not resumed Its former volume and therefore copper has been accumulating at refineries and the present cut In price Drice while done in the 0 hope of Increasing the volume of pur purchases purchases chases has not materially Increased them and we do not believe that a cut or of two or three cents more would materially In Increase increase crease them as at this time of year rear we believe the big bulk of manufacturers will make their purchases only from hand to mouth so to speak the actual demands of the retailers for tor immediate delivery delhery One disastrous of feet of this advance In the metal is shown 0 In the loss of position which this coun countr country tr try holds in the export trade The net exports for eleven months ended May Ia 31 1007 were pounds against 28 and the bulk of this decrease came during the latter part or of this period Copper May Drop to Twenty Cents It wIll not surprise us Ir if the directors ot of several good copper companies vote to sell their product at the market during the next sixty or ninety days das and un under under der those conditions we believe there will willbe willbe be sales of moderately amounts of copper at from 21 to 2 cents Or Of course on any sharp break certain tain tam manufacturers have hae enough or of speculative speculative blood In their veins to take on moderate lines sa say for thirty or sixty days supply but we believe that th the ul ultimate price or of copper whether hIgher or lower than the present arbitrarily ar arranged arranged ranged price will be based on the ques question question tion of whether with the success or of the crops this fall and taking into consider consideration consideration the prosperity or of the west and its wealth of money there wilt will not be a sufficient Increase In business to once m re make the consumers come tate the on a liberal basis In other words mone money is the principal dominating factor at the moment In the price of the metal because the ques question tion of securing money Is postponing work and thereby decreasing tIo tion i Personally we do not believe in artl arti i tIdal markets We e think there are many arguments In favor or of the companies sell selling selling ing their product each month at what whatever whatever ever price it Is necessary to dispose of It allowing the price to go down if it will and then rebound as it must with the return or of increased consumption There is another side to the argument namely that the producer wishes to stand standby b by the large larse manufacturer with whom he has responsible contracts to protect him himIn himin In his sales to the small retailers until such time as he has actually the goods which he has manufactured from copper Which ot of these principles pies ples Is the better to follow each person must decide for himself Copper St High i i I I We Ve cannot see In a broad view or of the copper industry an any reason wh why one should expect a serious general decline In copper shares Some or of them are al alread a aready ready read selling at prices which would be cheap were the metal to sell at only 15 cents per pound Amalgamated for in instance Instance stance ought to be able to earn more than 6 per share with copper at 15 cents per pound Very likely some copper properties would be disastrously affected by any such extreme decline and the In upon the copper share market ot of a serious decline in one stock is of course apt t be quite general On the whole 0 ther therefore for we can see no special Inducement for a man to take tak the bull side of these copper stocks un until UI til we can take n a more hopeful view of the metal market The only exception to such a statement lies In the tendency ot of Certain speculators In a decline to over oversell oversell sell some one or two stocks now and then |