Since one finds copper in a diversity of products, it is a great indicator of the world's economy. I like to follow the price of the copper penny on coinflation. The US stopped producing copper pennies in 1982 when the melt value of the penny exceeded the value of the penny.

The melt value is currently $0.025 . It had been as high as $0.03.

Pundits have long warned about copper shortages. Everytime the price spikes, new mines come online and bring it back down.

My guess is that the price of copper is largely regulated by the amount of energy that is needed to produce copper.

If the economy starts going strong, we will probably see the price spike.