Monday, August 4, 2014

10 Things Macquarie Hates About Copper

From CEO.ca July 31:
(not circa July 31, ca is the top-level domain for Canada)

Copper In 2014
Copper has been on the rise since March, fetching more than $7,100/t, but the rally will end soon according to a report by Macquarie Capital titled “10 things we hate about copper – or why we reiterate a short in 2H.” The price of copper is highly correlated with economic growth and earlier this week investors flocked to the metal following the recent U.S. GDP numbers, which were stronger than expected.

While data from the U.S. continues to support that a recovery is under way, Macquarie says there are bigger factors at play that will have an impact on the price of copper, noting that Chinese demand will soon decline and global supply will soon increase. Macquarie expects copper will sell for around $6,500/t by the end of the year.

China, the largest market for copper, accounts for 45% of global demand, and according to the Macquarie report housing starts were down year-over-year in each of the first six months of 2014. “Consumption lags building starts by a few months because wiring installation is a late-stage construction task.”...MORE
Handy construction tips from the Great White North: Don't put your wiring in first.