All Metals have been on a tear lately, Nickel is up over $5.00, Copper is over $2.00, Lead and Zinc are also up.
CLOSING PRICES (SPOT)
Gold US$/troy ounce 889.16 -4.34
Silver US$/troy ounce 12.74 0.02
Copper US$/lb 2.12 0.09
Lead US$/lb 0.67 0.06
Zinc US$/lb 0.64 0.02
Nickel US$/lb 5.33 0.45
Copper just keeps rolling on
INVESTMENT REPORTER
Copper prices have been on a tear this year, as Chinese demand for the metal - both for stockpiling for future use and loading factories to satisfy more immediate demand - has proved surprisingly resilient.
The metal rocketed 8 per cent higher yesterday to $2.08 (U.S.) a pound in London, its highest level since hitting a low of $1.26 in December. It's a tidy gain - but still leaves prices about 50 per cent short of where they were a year ago.
"There is a real reason for copper's rebound, and that is the strategic interest in China and a pickup in the country's industrial activity, which is what I was hoping for," said Patricia Mohr, vice-president and commodities specialist at Bank of Nova Scotia.
Desjardins Securities said yesterday that it expects copper to trade around $2.50 a pound through the rest of this year, before hitting $3 in 2010.
"We believe demand from China over the next 18 months and a slow-economic-growth scenario for the Western world are sufficient to sustain copper prices at higher levels," Desjardins wrote in a client report.
That's good news for Canadian producers, according to Ms. Mohr; at current levels, most miners are able to make money