Copper and Platinum outperform Gold and Silver.... BY A LOT!
Hearing about the sudden spike in the value of copper, I decided to do a little digging on how the metals have been reacting to world events over the last three months.
I was shocked to discover that between copper, silver, platinum and silver... platinum has performed the best over the last three months.
The shocker is that copper was not too far behind in terms of percentage value increase.
Silver did decently, but the one metal that everyone has their eyes on (gold) has not done much spectacular in terms of percentage growth.
Platinum is a War Metal
Platinum in particular is known as a war metal. When war is rumored or breaks out, platinum has a much increased demand.
Platinum is on the strategic materials list in several nations due to its critical use and limited geographic availability (especially South Africa and Russia).
And platinum is seen by some investors as a hedge during conflict, especially when war affects platinum-producing countries or supply chains.
Copper is a War Metal
This initial spike in copper value is directly related to tariffs on the metal, but it just accelerates an upwards trend over the last three months.
The first notable spike in copper price was all the way back to the civil war, when the US mint was experimenting with copper-nickel coinage that used only 88% copper.
Copper was in such demand during WW2 that copper rationing due to a massive spike in demand. The copper penny was replaced with steel for a few years to conserve copper for the war.
During the Korean War, copper prices surged over 30%. Again copper prices surged during the Vietnam war.
During the cold war, when another world war was looming, the US abandoned the copper penny all together, going to a copper-plated zinc penny, only containing 2.5% copper.
Just as a side-note: it takes $1.46 worth of copper pennies to make a pound of copper... which is currently worth $5.40. Just something worth pointing out.
Rooting for the Underdogs
Platinum and copper do not have the same appeal as gold or silver, but these metals contain much more potential for value gains. The values are not manipulated (like silver) or hoarded (like gold), but rather are consumed in electronics and technology and used for war.
The One Year Perspective
From a one-year perspective, it's clear that gold is the winner - but interestingly, platinum and copper are currently in the similar percentage increase.
Copper as an investment metal?
Platinum as an investment metal?
Eyes on.
Benjamin Turner: God fearer. Rooted in Messiah. Husband of @lturner. Father of SEVEN wonderful children. The guy behind the camera. Blockchain enthusiast.
Bless the Most High!