Are copper bullion bars a good investment?

sabretoothtigger

They will go up if the developing countries avoid recession and manage to expand faster than new supplies can be brought on tap.

Why would they go into recession. World GDP is positive this year and will be next year. USA has maybe one tenth of Asia population, in terms of growth we are looking in the wrong direction.

I could understand the worry if USA was building and using copper but that factor isnt in the figures and I dont think much of copper price is from expectation of a restart of that lost demand

That is a myth.

We have about one hundred years of inflation. One pound is worth 1/255 of its old value. Im expecting that bias to continue and it seems to be linked to the amount of debt.
We've bid up our own prices to maintain low rates, the normal market would have us paying more

Ark_Welder

Reiwxib wrote: »

The point is pre 1991 copper 1 and 2p coins will hold their value or go up while the pound sterling fiat currency keeps going down

So I'm OK holding a hundred 1p coins then.

Reaper

sabretoothtigger wrote: »

Why would they go into recession. World GDP is positive this year and will be next year. USA has maybe one tenth of Asia population, in terms of growth we are looking in the wrong direction.

Because at the moment, over simplifying somewhat, the West are consumers and the developing countries are producers. If the West goes into recession and buys less it will have a knock on effect on the East.

There are signs things are starting to change and increased wealth in some developing is beginning to kick off consumer spending and aspirations, but it has not taken off enough that they can shrug off what is happening to their markets in the West. At least not yet.

sabretoothtigger

Most of that bias comes from overvalued dollar. If that changes so does the idea of 'consumers'

BASE METALS: NY Copper Rises On Weak Dollar, Supply Disruption
--Dollar falls on debt-ceiling worries

--Labor strike continues at Chile's Escondida mine, talks scheduled for Tuesday


By Matt Day
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Copper futures climbed Tuesday on continued strike-related production disruptions in Chile and a sharply weaker dollar.

Copper for September delivery, the most actively traded contract, was recently up 7.25 cents, or 1.7%, at $4.479 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The dollar slid early Tuesday, pressured by the failure of President Barack Obama and Republican leaders to agree on a deal to raise the U.S. borrowing limit. A falling dollar can boost dollar-denominated copper by making the futures cheaper for buyers using other currencies.

The ICE U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the currency against those of some major U.S. trading partners, was recently at 73.696, down from 74.108 late Monday in New York. The index fell to its lowest levels in more than a month Tuesday.

While copper's rise Tuesday came primarily because of the weaker dollar, futures also gained support from the ongoing strike at the world's largest copper mine, Standard Bank analyst Leon Westgate said in a note.

Workers at Chile's Escondida mine, which is majority controlled by BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP, BHP.AU), stopped work Thursday to protest what they said were breaches of their contract.

The mine stands to lose 3,000 tons of copper output for every day workers are on strike. Government-hosted talks were scheduled for Tuesday.

Copper prices have been supported for much of the past year by the widely held view that mine-production growth would fail to keep up with rising demand. Chile is the world's largest copper miner, accounting for about 30% of global supply.

Metals traders remain cautious as the Treasury Department's deadline to raise the debt ceiling nears, with U.S. leaders yet to agree on an outline for a deficit-reduction plan. Investors worry that a downgrade of the U.S. credit rating, or even a brief default, could rattle global markets, and potentially upset the sluggish U.S. economic recovery.

Copper is sensitive to the economic outlook, and measures of growth in particular, because of its widespread use in manufacturing and construction.


July 26, 2011 09:55 ET (13:55 GMT)

Chris55_2

Reiwxib wrote: »

The point is pre 1991 copper 1 and 2p coins will hold their value or go up while the pound sterling fiat currency keeps going down

The new coins have a steel core. Just get a magnet and run it over the coins, it will pick up the steel ones and leave the copper ones to make sorting easier!

[Deleted User]

It's actually pre-1992 that the 1 and 2p coins were made of copper. In other words 1991 was the last year they were minted in copper. A 2p coin weighs 7.12 gram, making roughly 140x2p coins in a kilo. That's £2.80
That £2.80 turns into almost £4 when melted down. I don't know what the scrap metal dealers pay per kilo of copper 95% refinement here in the UK, but in Denmark you get about £3.80 for that category of copper.

IronWolf

going through coppers with a magnet has to be the most pathetic thing Ive heard yet. Seriously how much are you actually going to make from that, 10p?

experience08

ummibaap wrote: »

Hiya this is my first post and I am wanting to enquire about the investment of copper bullion bars.

Sounds good. Brass (an alloy of copper and zinc) is an up and coming precious metal :-

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2019380/Postmen-left-baffled-scrap-metal-thieves-strip-entire-streets-brass-number-plates.html

nancykwan

IronWolf wrote: »

going through coppers with a magnet has to be the most pathetic thing Ive heard yet. Seriously how much are you actually going to make from that, 10p?

Depends how many you have.
Put it this way, do you really think that the likes of Coinstar are returning real bronze coins to the banks?
Are they hell, well at least if it was my company I woudn't be!
It wouldn't surprise me in the least if the banks were doing this too.

It won't be long before 'copper' coinage is abolished in the UK, and that's when Coinstar etc will melt them down or sell them for their scrap value because it's no longer against the law to do so when they aren't legal tender.

Paper money can be devalued to what it's actually worth, ie toilet roll.
Look around you, it's happening now and at an ever quicker rate.

Non-ferrous metal whether it is aluminium or platinum, will always have intrinsic value. Even steel is worth more than paper notes if you remove its implied (face) value.
Pity nobody told Gordon Brown about metals when he sold 60% of UK gold stocks for $256/oz though. :mad:

Ark_Welder

nancykwan wrote: »

Pity nobody told Gordon Brown about metals when he sold 60% of UK gold stocks for $256/oz though. :mad:

Pity no-one told the Swiss either. As a percentage of Forex reserves, the UK holds slightly more in gold than do the Swiss (as at December 2010).

Strange to note that the three countries that hold the most gold as a percentage of their reserves are: Portugal, Greece and the USA. I've seen these mentioned elsewhere for some reason. Can't quite remember where now...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_reserve