Copper Shortage - another Resource at its Limits ?

It is people buying in advance of actual use. It is people trading in metals seeing the possibility of a future downturn in demand.

Ah fair enough. So would that be the so-called "speculative market" in action?

Who owns these stockpiles anyway, is it the companies who mine it and all trading is done between traders or is there some monolithic entity from which one can buy, or to which one can sell, copper at the fluctuating prices? Like the government, some international copper agency etc.

Welcome to the world of futures.

http://www.dailyfutures.com/metals/

Squire wrote:

The world runs on old boy networks and anyone who thinks otherwise is a dreamer.

You tend to do business with people you know and trust, or the people who they recommend to you. When you want something done, it's a lot more effort to go out and find a random stranger. People in your social network are easier to find and easier to vet, plus there are informal mechanism both for resolution of difficulties and for punishing wrongdoing. Business requires certain levels of trust, empathy and goodwill to operate, and the old boys' (or girls') network provides that by default.

evercloserunion wrote:

Ah fair enough. So would that be the so-called "speculative market" in action?

Who owns these stockpiles anyway, is it the companies who mine it and all trading is done between traders or is there some monolithic entity from which one can buy, or to which one can sell, copper at the fluctuating prices? Like the government, some international copper agency etc.

There are commodities markets that work just like the stock market - it connects buyers and sellers, the sellers originally are mining companies/producers etc, the buyers are anyone who is interested in trading the commodity really perhaps, but not necessarily an end user.

evercloserunion wrote:

Ah fair enough. So would that be the so-called "speculative market" in action?

Who owns these stockpiles anyway, is it the companies who mine it and all trading is done between traders or is there some monolithic entity from which one can buy, or to which one can sell, copper at the fluctuating prices? Like the government, some international copper agency etc.

At the moment China is buying up massive amounts of minerals, a lot of it still in the ground - Australia, Africa, you name it and they are buying.

Historically, these sorts of acquisition sprees have usually been backed by an army. China by and large is just using money. It is a high risk strategy, as the French have found out in Iraq.

http://www.chinamining.org/Investment/2009-02-17/1234835317d21557.html