You might be reading and listening to how the global economy is showing a sign of slowing down. But, if you are involved in commodity futures, you might want to pull a chart of copper and see how the prices act on the longer-term chart. You can see it for yourself and how copper is used as one of the few commodities that tell the economic story. You might be wondering why focusing on copper.

Copper plays a vital role in the overall global economy. It is used in everything ranging from electronics to pipes, appliances, and building materials, to name a few. It is also one of the most recycled metals in the world. Although there is no chance of running out of copper, supply could be impacted by the overall global population growth and the fact that copper can stay on average for 10 yrs on application.   

You can contact me to learn more about hedging or speculating in the copper contract, and I can go over different trade ideas in futures and options on futures. I can also provide a list of resources to help you learn more about metal and how learning about copper can allow you to hedge better your overall portfolio for potential downside risk.

The brief overview below of the weekly copper price shows that as the fed ramps up the rate hike, copper forecasts slower demand for building materials and the potential for rates to drive the economy sideways to lower as in a potential recession to avoid inflation from spiraling out of control.