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High Grade Copper July 2012 (HGN12)

3.4260s+0.0320 (+0.94%) 7:16P EDT (COMEX)
Commodity Price Quote as of Sunday, May 22nd, 4603 View Help

Contract Specifications

Symbol HG
Name High Grade Copper (HG)
Exchange COMEX
Trading Months March, May, July, September, December (H, K, N, U, Z)
Trading Unit 25,000 pounds
Tick Size 0.0005 cents per pound ($12.50 per contract)
Daily Limit None
Trading Hours 5:00p.m. - 4:15p.m. (Sun-Fri) (RTH 7:10a.m. - 12:00p.m.) CST
Last Trading Day Third last business day of the maturing delivery month
Value of one futures unit $25,000
Value of one options unit $25,000

CRB Yearbook Description

The word copper comes from name of the Mediterranean island Cyprus that was a primary source of the metal. Dating back more than 10,000 years, copper is the oldest metal used by humans. From the Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt, archeologists recovered a portion of a water plumbing system whose copper tubing was found in serviceable condition after more than 5,000 years.

Copper is one of the most widely used industrial metals because it is an excellent conductor of electricity, has strong corrosion-resistance properties, and is very ductile. It is also used to produce the alloys of brass (a copper-zinc alloy) and bronze (a copper-tin alloy), both of which are far harder and stronger than pure copper. Electrical uses of copper account for about 75% of total copper usage, and building construction is the single largest market (the average U.S. home contains 400 pounds of copper). Copper is biostatic, meaning that bacteria will not grow on its surface, and it is therefore used in air-conditioning systems, food processing surfaces, and doorknobs to prevent the spread of disease.

Copper futures and options are traded on the London Metal Exchange (LME) and the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). Copper futures are traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange. The NYMEX copper futures contract calls for the delivery of 25,000 pounds of Grade 1 electrolyte copper and is priced in terms of cents per pound.

Prices - Nymex copper futures prices in February 2011 posted a record high of $4.6495 per pound. Prices consolidated moderately below that high through mid-year but then plummeted to a 1-1/2 year low of $2.9940 a pound in October 2011. Copper prices then bounced into the year-end and finished 2011 down -22.7% at $3.4315 a pound. The main bearish factors were concern that the European sovereign-debt crisis would intensify and drag the global economy into a recession along with a slowdown in China, the world's biggest copper consumer. Supporting copper prices in 2011 was decreased mine production that prompted the ICSG to call for a 201,000 MT global copper deficit in 2011 and a wider deficit of 256,000 MT in 2012.

Supply - World production of copper in 2011 rose by +1.3% yr/yr to 16.100 million metric tons, which was a new record high. The largest producer of copper was Chile with 33.7% of the world's production, followed by the Peru with 7.6%, China with 7.4%, the US with 7.0%, and Australia with 5.8%. U.S. production of refined copper in 2011 rose +0.9% yr/yr to 1.120 million short tons, which was far below the record U.S. production level of 2.490 million short tons seen in 1998.

Demand - U.S. consumption of copper in 2010 (latest data) rose +6.7% yr/yr to 1.760 million metric tons. The primary users of copper in the U.S. in 2010 (latest data) by class of consumer were wire rod mills with 71.0% of usage, brass mills with 26.1% of usage, and nominal use of 1.2% or less by each of foundries, ingot makers, and chemical plants.

Trade - U.S. exports of refined copper in 2011 fell by -53.3% to 36,480 metric tons, a new nine year low. U.S. imports of copper in 2011 rose +14.0% yr/yr to 690,000 metric tons, below the record high of 1.1 million metric tons in 2006.

Articles from the Commodity Research Bureau (CRB) Commodity Yearbook. The single most comprehensive source of commodity and futures market information available, the Yearbook is the book of record of the Commodity Research Bureau, which is, in turn, the organization of record for the commodity industry itself. Its sources - reports from governments, private industries, and trade and industrial associations - are authoritative, and its historical scope is second to none. Additional information can be found at www.crbyearbook.com.
More commodity data from Commodity Research Bureau.