Copper stockpiles may signal change in price expectations

Watching copper pricing and trying to guess its future direction is a favorite sideline among many in the electrical industry, just because so many supply-chain players have significant money tied up in inventories of wire. That makes stories like the ...
April 11, 2011

Watching copper pricing and trying to guess its future direction is a favorite sideline among many in the electrical industry, just because so many supply-chain players have significant money tied up in inventories of wire. That makes stories like the one datelined for tomorrow morning's Wall Street Journal fascinating.

The WSJ's Carolyn Cui and Tatyana Shumsky report on discoveries of massive stockpiles of refined copper in bonded warehouses around China's ports. Estimates they cite range from 700,000 to a million tons, more than enough to offset the anticipated shortfall that has been driving copper prices higher for much of the past two years. Well worth a read.

Wall Street Journal story, "Warning Signs for Copper" (subscription required)

About the Author

Doug Chandler, Senior Staff Writer

Executive Editor

Doug Chandler began writing about the electrical industry in 1992, and still finds there's never a shortage of stories to be told. So he spends his days finding them and telling them. Educationally, he's a Jayhawk with an English degree. Outside of work, he can often be found banging drums or harvesting tomatoes.