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Show COPPER MARKET I III COMPLEX FORM Buyers Are Certain to Be Forced In Soon at Rising Prices. STOCKS ARE LOW Real Consumption of Red Metal Has Not Started, Says Authority. The copper metal market presents the most complex situation ever known In the industry, as pertaining to selling interests, in-terests, remarks the Mining World. According Ac-cording to an eastern authority, it looks as though the consumers had settled down to an attempt to tire out the producers pro-ducers and force them to lower their prices to a level which the users will consider satisfactory. Just whai that level may be does not appear, but a few weeks ago IT cents was mentioned by some of the manufacturers as a buying figure. The British government has an inquiry in the market for between 3,000,000 and 4.000,000 pounds of copper, an Insignificant Insignifi-cant tonnage when compared with its probable needs. Recently Great Britain bought 500 tons of Australian copper at a very low price. Heretofore these requirements re-quirements have been filled through. London Lon-don dealers commissioned to act as go-betweens, but the two Instances cited call for direct dealings between producers and. the government. The French government requirements for copper are understood in the trade to be very heavy arid as no buying from that source has occurred for some time, orders from France are expected soon. The Russian government will also need copper to supplement the production of that country, but these purchases will doubtless be made through London. Maximum Capacity. Production of copper this month will have reached Its maximum refinery capacity, ca-pacity, producers believe, and with any material concessions in price some curtailment cur-tailment of production may result, as some of the small shippers could not make a profit on their operations if settled set-tled with on a basis below 16 cents a pound. Thus far there has been no accumulation accumula-tion of copper at refinery points, according accord-ing to the best available Information. The orders of last June, which have been succeeded by smaller business, were sufficient suf-ficient to cover all the copper above ground through this month and into September. Sep-tember. July deliveries of copper were the heaviest known. It Is understood, while those during- August will hold well up to the preceding month. I he long delay in buying of copper from abroad has set producers on a new train of thought, which has to do with the possible stocks that European con-? sumers may have on hand. At the beginning be-ginning of this year producers in the United States were carrying large stocks of the metal, but the subsequent big demand not only cleaned them out of their surplus, but has thus far cared for a constantly Increasing production. Eliminating Germany, there nave been big exports of copper to Europe this year, but producers have not been able to satisfy their own curiosity as to whether some of this metal was not set aside for future use. as It was being taken In on the way up from low prices to above 20 cents a pound. An international interna-tional metal dealer. In discussing the situation, sit-uation, said: The Real Situation. I know the copper market on both sides of the ocean. I know that bear operators have been active In the London market, but I do not know whether the bears are operating In the Interests of the British admiralty or In the Interest of American copper share speculators, who may be quietly quiet-ly accumulating copper stocks for the long-predicted boom in copper shares, which has not yet materialised. I also believe that the Investment of a million or two In Iondon copper warrants war-rants would put these bears to flight. I know every big buyer of copper In America, every maJter of sheets, bars, tubes, etc., and I know that from tha way they are working day and night In their mills, and watching watch-ing the copper market, that It Is only a question of time when they will tumbl over themselves pell mell to buy the copper on a rising market, and they have refused to buy on a declining market. Very few- people understand the strength of the metal market today. There Is nO domestic business of consequence con-sequence like hardware, builders' supplies sup-plies or brass bars. The demand Is for copper tubes and war goods made to exact sizes and to the thousandth part of an inch. Because of the accural required in this work and absolute Inability to sell elsewhere any rejected pieces, the copper trade Is running on an entirely entire-ly different basis today, and 25 per cent -aah la laid down upon the table with every order. I believe every estimate made concerning con-cerning the Increase In copper consumption con-sumption outside of Germany bv the war is far below the mark. The real consumption of copper for manufacturers manufac-turers and export In the Interest of the warring nations has not yet appeared. |