Commodities: Plunge in Copper Prices

In spite of all the enthusiasm engendered by those who misguidedly think the government interference in the markets through the bailout plans will change the realities of the marketplace, all you have to look at the base metal commodity copper to see the folly in that belief.

Since copper is one of the more important commodities, being used in so many applications, it is definitely a bellwhether as a key measurement of the health of the economy.

With that in mind, we can see from the charts below that over the last year demand has slackedned, and the price reflects that accordingly; not only in America, but across the world.

While copper enjoyed a little temporary jump over the last 24 hours, it feel last week to a low of $2.12 a pound. It's been about 3 years since we've seen prices this low.

30-day Copper

The point? Don't let temporary fixes and the governments around the world attempting ease our minds as a reason to think this is going to change the economic realities we currently live in. It'll take years to flush out the problems in the system, and throwing money at the problem historically has fueled the fire, rather than help put it out.

60-day Copper

Copper is a key measurement in the demand for products around the world, and a bellwhether for commodity demand in general, as it's used in cars, new homes and appliances, along with many other products. And as you can see from the charts, demand has been falling for some time.

1 Year Copper