Recession warning

 Washington Examiner:

Copper prices, seen as economic barometer for centuries, give recession warning

...

 In early 2008, copper prices were trading between $3 and $4 per pound, peaking at about $3.95 in late June of that year. Then they suddenly collapsed, plunging to just about $1.30 in December 2008 — an abrupt decline of 67%. Similarly, economic output cratered and stocks plummeted in what is now known as the Great Recession.

Copper fell just prior to, and then in tandem with, the recession of the early 2000s as well as during the recessions of the early 1980s, a period that featured Paul Volcker’s Fed aggressively jacking up interest rates by double digits to rein in the country’s historic inflation — a scenario that is somewhat analogous to the situation the economy is in right now.

...

The reason copper is such a good indicator is that it is used in just about everything that consumers buy, from household appliances to automobiles. It is also used in the construction of new homes and commercial buildings.

When copper prices are soaring, it means people are going out and buying things and that workers are building new structures — signs that the economy is hot and consumers are spending. Thus, prices of the commodity go up to match demand.

Conversely, when prices start to slow, it can show that manufacturers are slowing output because demand is falling, an indication that GDP is starting to contract and, in the extreme, that the economy is tumbling into a recessionary period.

...

I used copper pipe for most of the plumbing in my house when I built it 25 years ago.  It is also commonly used in wiring for electrical circuits.