Cu

[Fluff]

Wow it has gone up in price! Scale in USD / Tonne. Wonder what will happen when the US 1 cent coin has more scrap value than monetary value? (afaik 97.5% Zn 2.5% Cu) and 2.5g

Price for Zn has shot up too.

[Brian Ellis]

Not just copper but nearly all non-ferrous metals.

The amount of copper in a 1 c coin is very small, as it is essentially zinc with copper-laminated faces. I think the copper is about 70 µm thick. However, the total cost of making a 1 c coin is currently about 1.5c!!! Time for it to be scrapped, I guess. A penny for your thoughts.

[GNEP]

British pennies turned steel about 10 years ago I think for this very reason. There are still quite a few copper ones in circulation though - a magnet can tell the difference easily enough

Apparently this is also causing a bit of a nightmare for telcos, especially in sparse countries - people are nicking the copper telephone wires to melt down...

[KvHagedorn]

jeez.. look for price increases in wire across the board, unless this is just speculation.

[Fluff]

Quite a few things have been going up in price. Concrete , PVC-U piping, steel, maybe it's all being used up in China?

@KvH - wonder if the high end interconnect and speaker cable manufacturers will be increasing their prices by a similar percentage.

[cjolley]

Ah Market Forces can't beat em':

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=hotStocksNews&storyID=2006-05-15T131004Z_01_N15273812_RTRUKOC_0_US-MINERALS-STOCKS.xml

Metals shares fall as copper, gold sell off

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares in metals miners fell broadly in pre-market trading on Monday as recent record-driving bullishness weakened, and copper and gold declined sharply.

Among the biggest losers, Peru Copper Inc. (PCR.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) (CUP.A: Quote, Profile, Research) slid 7.5 percent to $4.06 on the Inet electronic brokerage system; Bema Gold Corp. (BGO.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) (BGO.A: Quote, Profile, Research) was down 6.8 percent at $5.20; iShares Silver Trust (SLV.A: Quote, Profile, Research) was off 6.9 percent at $134.70; and mining heavyweight BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) (BHP.N: Quote, Profile, Research) fell 6 percent at $44.95.

"Everybody has got a bit jumpy," said Mark Mathias, managing director of Dawnay Day Quantum hedge fund. "We've seen very sharp rises over the last couple of months on equities and commodities, so it's no surprise it's being marked down a bit."

Industrial and precious metals fell as bullish sentiment faltered. Copper, which hit a record high last week, fell to $7700/7900 a tonne, down 8.8 percent from Friday's close.

Gold <XAU=> slid as low as $687.60 an ounce, down 3.7 percent from $714.10/715.10 Friday in New York. The metal reached a 26-year high last week.

(Additional reporting by Alex Lawler in London)

[Tjalfe]

and to think I was about to toss some old copper pipes from a renovation project.. I guess I should put them in a safety deposit box