What's Ailing Dr. Copper?

ByStephanie Collins:Zinc climbed to its highest in a year on last week after factory growth improved in December both in China and the United States, brightening the demand outlook for Zinc and other base metals.Zinc hit the highest since Feb. 2, 2012, at $2,190 a ton last week and chasing gains in copper which rallied to four-month highs last week in London and Shanghai. Zinc is currently selling above $1,980 a ton, having risen steadily from the $1,600 level in the fall of 2012.

By Hard Assets Investor: By Sumit Roy China remains the key player in balanced base metals markets. Like other commodities, base metals rose sharply over the past month on the back of the Federal Reserve’s latest round of quantitative easing, QE3. Yet even after the rally, from a longer-term perspective, the sector is still within a downtrend.

By David Sims:As of July 12th, Freddie Mac (FMCC.OB) reported that 30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgages (FRM) hit new lows. Mortgages originated during the time frame of the report are showing rates of 3.56%, down from 3.62% in the prior week.

Hard Assets Investor submits: By Lara Crigger Is this year’s worst-performing LME metal a canary in the coal mine for copper? And is there any hope in sight for nickel prices?

Inquiring minds are digging into the touted numbers of the day, the conference board index of leading indicators. Sovereign Debt Table 10-Year Bonds

By Market Blog: By David Berman How bad can things get for base metals miners?

Mike Stall submits: China is the world’s largest consumer of copper, zinc and nickel and also among the leading consumers of other base metals. The country has one of the fastest growing auto sector (which has overtaken the US in size) and has plans for rapid expansion of railroads and other infrastructure segments. Not surprisingly, China’s demand growth is expected to be the single most important factor in determining the direction of metal prices.