Barron's: Why Copper is Pointing to a Slow Economy

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Dr. Copper is signaling that more danger is ahead.

Copper, which is consumed for a wide variety of uses including manufacturing and construction, is said to have a Ph.D. in economics because of its ability to forecast economic activity. Hence the Dr. Copper moniker.

When prices of the red metal drop it often presages slower economic activity and lower stock prices. Benchmark contracts for copper have tumbled from around $3.38 a pound at the beginning of the year to about $3.00 recently. But that's only part of the story. See original post here.