Base metal prices:

5-5-06

Copper----- $3.50 lb.
Nickel----- $8.84
Aluminum--- $1.32
Zinc------- $1.56
Lead--------$.53
Uranium-----$41.50

Current base metal prices:

Aluminum---1.1441
Copper-----3.3115
Lead-------.4404
Nickel-----.10.2610
Uranium----45.50

Current base metal prices:

Aluminum--- 1.1189
Copper------ 3.5093
Lead--------- .4861
Nickel-------- 12.5721
Uranium----- 45.50
Zinc---------- 1.5853

The base metals remained flat for the past couple of months with the exception of lead, uranium and zinc which made moderate gains.

Aluminum-- 1.1106
Copper----- 3.3819
lead--------- .6194
Nickel------- 12.8896
Uranium---- 52.00
Zinc--------- 1.4680

Lead, nickel,uranium and zinc are up nicely over the past six months. Quotes are from 5-7-06 and current prices.

Lead .53 and .7907, up 33%
Nickel 8.84 and 13.5783, up 34.9%
Uranium 41.50 and 60.00, up 30.8%
Zinz 1.56 and 2.0650, up 24.5%

Aluminum 1.32 and 1.2626, down 4.3%
Copper 3.50 and 3.27, down 6.6%

Are we expecting a pullback in metal prices today, Because growth in China was over 11% last quarter and economist are predicting China will raise interest rates to slow the economy?

Zinc and copper should perform well, so does the stocks of the respective mining coys:

Zinc stocks started soaring, exploding in price this week, starting last Friday, with Apex Silver, up 20%, and others also up 15-20% in the past 5 days.  As each stock soared, the stocks had huge volumes, suggesting a powerfully wealthy buyer.  The stocks moved up on different days, suggesting a single large fund buying, as if one man was making the decision to buy.  The stocks were up nearly the same amount, again suggesting a single buyer.  I do not know who this was, nor have I been able to find out.
Why is there a sudden rush to buy zinc stocks?  Probably because zinc prices are rising as zinc inventories are falling, which started about last month.
Similarly, copper prices started rising, and copper inventories started falling, about 3 months ago
I am expecting that both copper and zinc will soon break out to new highs.  

Zinc should rise above the former high of $2.10/lb, and copper should rise above $4.00/lb.
I note that zinc inventories are as low as they were in December, and falling even faster, yet prices are lower.  Therefore, zinc prices could head much higher, very quickly, unless something changes.

Now is probably not the time to be timid, but to buy silver and zinc stocks aggressively, before zinc inventories drop further, and before the base metals rise further, to re-establish the long term trends, which are massively up.

How high each can go, is just about anyone's guess, but I would not be surprised to see gains of at least about 50-100% higher than the former highs, suggesting $3-4 for zinc, and $6-8 for copper, just for starters.  Further gains would be from inflation, which I also expect.

An extract from the recent article about commodity super-cycle....

This is where it gets interesting... and potentially alarming. Platinum is a vital component in catalytic converters for cars and fuel cells. ‘There is no synthetic alternative’ to it and no demand is satisfied from recycling. If the world’s 500m cars were fitted with fuel cells supply would be exhausted within 15 years with no way of getting further supply.

Indium is a rare metal used in the manufacture of flat- screen TVs. Extractable reserves are kept a closely guarded secret by mining companies but it could be exhausted in 10 years says German materials scientist Armin Geller. Little wonder the price went from $60 per kilogram in 2003 to over $1,000 in 2006.

Ever heard of Hafnium? Me neither but this is an increasingly important component in computer technology and could be gone by 2017. Terbium, used in flourescent lightbulbs, could be gone by 2012 or before. Antimony, used in making flame retardent materials, could be gone in 15 years and silver in 10 years. Zinc could be finished by 2037 even though around a quarter of supply is provided by recycling.

Another history lesson is that when vital resources get scarce people have a tendency to fight over them. Iraq’s oil might be a case in point in mind for many but a lesser known stat is that the US depends on China for 90% of its “rare earth” metals.

FTS

All base metals are up today except lead.

Aluminum-----1.2484
Copper--------3.3883
lead-----------1.0561
Nickel---------23.2224
Uranium------125.00
Zinc-----------1.7173

Quoted from Sapper

An extract from the recent article about commodity super-cycle....

This is where it gets interesting... and potentially alarming. Platinum is a vital component in catalytic converters for cars and fuel cells. ‘There is no synthetic alternative’ to it and no demand is satisfied from recycling. If the world’s 500m cars were fitted with fuel cells supply would be exhausted within 15 years with no way of getting further supply.

Indium is a rare metal used in the manufacture of flat- screen TVs. Extractable reserves are kept a closely guarded secret by mining companies but it could be exhausted in 10 years says German materials scientist Armin Geller. Little wonder the price went from $60 per kilogram in 2003 to over $1,000 in 2006.

Ever heard of Hafnium? Me neither but this is an increasingly important component in computer technology and could be gone by 2017. Terbium, used in flourescent lightbulbs, could be gone by 2012 or before. Antimony, used in making flame retardent materials, could be gone in 15 years and silver in 10 years. Zinc could be finished by 2037 even though around a quarter of supply is provided by recycling.

Another history lesson is that when vital resources get scarce people have a tendency to fight over them. Iraq’s oil might be a case in point in mind for many but a lesser known stat is that the US depends on China for 90% of its “rare earth” metals.

FTS

Very interesting!  

Current base metal prices:

Aluminum -------$1.1650
Copper-----------$3.4143
Lead-------------$1.7211
Nickel------------$14.2443
Uranium---------$85.00
Zinc--------------$1.2762

Live Spot Prices
SPOT PRICE IS OPEN
Price: US$/lb
Copper      December 14,15:07
Bid/Ask      2.9094      -      2.9185
Change      -0.0045           -0.16%
Low/High      2.9094      -      2.9208
Charts
Nickel      December 14,15:07
Bid/Ask      11.7828      -      11.8735
Change      +0.0000           +0.00%
Low/High      11.7828      -      11.8735
Charts
Aluminum      December 14,15:07
Bid/Ask      1.0706      -      1.0724
Change      +0.0000           +0.00%
Low/High      1.0706      -      1.0724
Charts
Zinc      December 14,15:07
Bid/Ask      1.0532      -      1.0554
Change      +0.0000           +0.00%
Low/High      1.0532      -      1.0554
Charts
Lead      December 14,15:07
Bid/Ask      1.1183      -      1.1251
Change      +0.0000           +0.00%
Low/High      1.1183      -      1.1251
Charts
Uranium      Dec 10, 2007
Ux U308 price:      92.00
Change from      
previous week      -1.00