Metals prices hitting 15-year highs.London -- Prices of precious metals Precious Metals Valuable metals such as gold, iridium, palladium, platinum, and silver. Notes: Investing in precious metals can be done either by purchasing the physical asset, or by purchasing futures contracts for the particular metal. are soaring soaring: see flight; glider. soaring or gliding Sport of flying a glider or sailplane. The craft is towed behind a powered airplane to an altitude of about 2,000 ft (600 m) and then released. , sparking fears of even tighter margins at electronics manufacturers hesitant hes·i·tant adj. Inclined or tending to hesitate. hes  i·tant·ly adv. to pass along
charges to customers.
Prices of gold, silver, platinum and copper have approached or passed multi-year highs of late. Analysts cite unprecedented demand for certain materials coupled with a large-scale swap by investors away from oil and into metals. Copper prices have blown by previous record highs. Demand in China plus unfettered housing starts and remodeling remodeling /re·mod·el·ing/ (re-mod´el-ing) reorganization or renovation of an old structure. bone remodeling are eating up capacity for copper, which is common in piping and other building supplies such as electrical wiring Electrical wiring in general refers to insulated conductors used to carry electricity, and associated devices. This article describes general aspects of electrical wiring as used to provide power in buildings and structures, commonly referred to as building wiring. . Gold prices neared a 23-year high of $506 per ounce in early December. Aluminum, zinc and lead are also seeing demand unlike in recent years. While pricing for certain metals has been surging for some time (CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY reported on this in November 2004), investors of late have upped the ante, as oil prices have fallen 20% since August. Among the high rollers High Rollers was an American television game show which aired on the NBC network from July 1, 1974 to June 11, 1976 and again from April 24, 1978 to June 20, 1980. Two different syndicated versions were also produced, the first a weekly series from September 8, 1975 to : * Silver hit an 18-year high of $8.62 per ounce. * Copper prices reached $4,435 per ton, a record. * Aluminum reached $2,213 per ton, a 16-year high. * Zinc was at $1,776.50 per ton, its highest level in 15 years. * Lead was at $1,068 per ton, its highest point since 1980. * Platinum, used heavily in cars, reached a 25-year high of $1,004 per ounce last week, and is up 19% this year. Analysts are saying that commodity materials could sustain their pricing for years, even decades, because of the lengthy time it takes to locate and establish new mines. Edited by Mike Buetow |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion