OCR Text |
Show COPPER GOING HIGHER. Tho leading belling agencies on Monday advanced tho Belling price of copper, the quotations being It 5-8 to 11 3-4 cents per pound. This Is taken tak-en as tho first movement of tho metal to 15 or 16 cents a pound following the slight reaction in February after the advance of January, it looks aa if there Is nothing to head tho motal in Its upward trend, tho situation be- viewed In the light of the restricted Industrial condtlons An eastorn authority treats of the outlook bb follows. In tho opinion of leading authorl- ties In tho copper trade, tho consump-1 tlon of copper today is greater than '-production. '-production. Sales of copper tho past week or ten days have been upon a large scalo, and tho position of the copper reflneiles Is a very difficult ono, as practically all the spot cop- por is now gone, with tho futuro out-! rut of the refineries pretty well sold Into May. It may not be generally recognized that stocks of copper at tho refineries are today at the lowest low-est point thoy probably ever have been, for at previous times of largo copper consumption figures were not kept with the same exactness as at proBont. Today all tho refineries aro practically prac-tically sending out hot metal, and tho recent steps to bring about an Increase In-crease In production Is regarded In the light of taking out Insurance, because be-cause with tho present rate of consumption con-sumption and the presont small stocks, unless there Is an Increase In production the market may dovelop Into a critical position, and the prico of the motal bo higher than any of tho copper Intorests desire it. Present indications are that production produc-tion for February will be large, because be-cause all the refineries are working to tho very limit, and even In the face of extremely large exports for tho month It Is not considered probable that wo will havo any abnormally largo decreases In stocks, as was the case In January, a decrease of 5,000,-000 5,000,-000 to 10.000,000 pounds Is In prospect pros-pect and 15-cent copper an early probability. |