The gas and copper prices are down, and many people have mixed feelings about that. Many people have been talking about how they love the low gas prices but hate the copper prices and other metal prices following the downward turn. We have talked to many people about why we think the prices have gone down for the copper and other metals markets so much, but we wanted to share a little more with you today.
Gas Prices Down…Copper Following
At my scrap yard, we have customers calling us dozens of times a day asking us about current pricing and going online through the iScrap App to get current pricing. In the last few days, we have received many disgruntled customers who are upset that the prices have decreased so much.
Our response to many of them is that we believed that the market was overinflated to begin with…but also that many people still believe that the market is higher than it is supposed to be still. With oil prices going down over 50% since peaking during the summer of 2014, the steel and ferrous markets were the only commodities that took a swift decline. It is not shocking that copper prices have taken such a big fall, especially with some of the reports that have come out recently.
The World Bank predicted that China’s copper consumption would be falling this year, and with China consuming 45% of the world’s copper right now, that news was alarming. China and India are two of the biggest catalysts for the copper market. They want to be able to establish their infrastructure, something that the USA already has much of in place.
With the markets being a little over the map right now, we suggest that you assume more drops and take a profit while you can. Many people think that the market will reoccur, and we can’t disagree…..but the question is when? While we may see a smaller spike of a few cents a day going up, the way the markets have acted the last few years also warrants a little instability.
Where the market is headed next? No one knows for sure. With some people predicting that oil prices will dip into the mid $30 per barrel range, it is hard to guess when the gas and copper prices will be down, up, or stay the same anytime soon.
Our guess is just roll the dice and wait and see what happens.
