Friday, February 22, 2013

Copper Collapse: An Ominous Sign?

I've read analysis and heard it said that the price of copper, is itself, an economic indicator. It has been often observed that copper prices collapse as a leading economic indicator of an impending economic downturn. If that is correct, then the collapse of the price of copper this week is an ominously bad omen. Copper has collapsed in the past few trading sessions. Here is today's chart:

So while stock continue to rise without regard for any risk, this bellwether industrial metal is telling us to beware of a reversal sometime soon.
Note this quick summary from Reuters:

LONDON, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Copper slipped on Friday to its lowest level in
two months and showed its biggest weekly loss in 14 months on concerns about the
global economy and the demand for industrial metals.