THE COPPER MARKET.

Bush Advocate, Volume XIX, Issue 738, 11 June 1907, Page 6

THE COPPER MARKET.

The price of copper is again on the decline, and the present quotation of £97 15s for distaut delivery is on a par with the prices ruling sowi^ weeks back when tlie American market slumped. The United States is at once by far the largest producer and consumer of this metal, and the J present slump is most probably due j to lessened demand in America. All authorities agree that the -consumption of copper has overtaken supply, ! and the rise was. therefore reasonable; at the same time there is no doubt that there has been a great deal of speculation for the rise, and probably the same thing is goi-ii; on now for the fall. It is the usual market struggle between the "bulls'' and the "bears," and for tho moment the bears are in the ascend int. It slionlcl occasion no surprise to see copper go considerably lower than \t is to-day, fov copper is controlled^l y trusts in America, and so also are the industries in which copper pjsiys an important part. The aggressive attitude displayed by President Roosevelt in the interests of the people against the large combines which have the effect of checking ■ the "schemes" that these great organisations- engineer for exploiting the public. Furthermore, the action of President Roosevelt must cause a scare amongst the capitalists who usually raid the public, and speculation must have slackened considerably. Cheap copper is entirely in the public interest, for it will admit of a freer use of the metal for flocii-ioal purposes. Tost.