-- Posted 4 May, 2006 | |

May 1, 2006

We all keep hearing about new highs that the commodities are making. Lets take a look at some of them to see where the prices have been and where they are going.

What does one use as a measurement as the purchasing power of the dollar keeps dropping, how can you measure something when the yardstick keeps changing? The government numbers on inflation are taken from Alice in Wonderland or maybe from Disney World, I am not sure but they are not of the real world which most of us have to live in.

In 1973 a gallon of gas cost about 60 – 65 cents, today in Canada it is over $5.00. I bought a new pick-up for $4000.00 in 1973. My truck last year was $52,000.00 MSRP.

In 1973 I was selling starter homes for $18,000.00, today they sell for just about $200,000.00.

To keep things simple lets multiply 1973 prices for commodities by ten as most things have gone up by a factor of ten. Also remember there are a lot less of these commodities available today as compared to 1973, as we consume them [especially silver].

Link to commodity prices http://minerals.usgs.gov/ds/2005/140/

Aluminum in 1973 was $582.00 per m/t or $.26 per pound

Aluminum in 2006 is about  $1.24 per pound                                    Needs to double

A new high for Aluminum would be about $2.70 per pound   

Cobalt in 1973 was $6480.00 per m/t or $2.95 per pound.

Cobalt in 2006 is about $16.00 per pound.                                         Needs to double

A new high for cobalt would be about $30.00 per pound   

Copper in 1973 was $1312.00 per m/t or about 59 cents a pound

Copper in 2006 hit $3.25 per pound.                                                  Needs to double

A new high for copper would have to be over $6.00 per pound.

Gold in 1973 was $3,150,000.00 per m/t or $98.00 per ounce

Gold in 2006 was up to $640.00 per ounce

A new high for gold would be about $990.00 per ounce.              Will be there shortly

Lead in 1973 was $359.00 per m/t or about 16 cents a pound

Lead in 2006 is about 55 cents a pound.                                            Needs to triple

A new high for lead would have to be over $1.60 per pound.

Moly in 1973 was $3985.00 per m/t or about $1.81 per pound.

Moly in 2006 is about $24.00 per pound

Moly has made a new high by exceeding $18.00 per pound.

Nickel in 1973 was $3370.00 per m/t or about $1.54 per pound.

Nickel in 2006 is about $8.75 per pound.                                             Needs to double

A new high for nickel would have to be over $16.00 per pound.

Silver in 1973 was $82,310.00 per m/t or about $2.55 per ounce.

Silver in 2006 was about $14.79 per ounce.                                         Needs to double

A new high for silver would have to be over $26.00 per ounce.

Tin in 1973 was $5018.00 per m/t or about $2.28 per pound.

Tin in 2006 is about $9320.00 per m/t or about $4.23 per pound.        A long way to go

A new high for Tin would have to be over $23.00 per pound.

Zinc in 1973 was $456.00 per m/t or about $.21 per pound.

Zinc in 2006 is about $3360.00 per m/t or about $1.52 per pound.

A new high for Zinc would have to be over $2.15 per pound.

Most commodities are a long way off from making new highs; I would say all that is happening is they are playing catch up. Or maybe they are losing control and the commodities are not as manipulated as they once were. When one sector of society can create money at will, while others have to trade their labor for it, how can we have free markets?

My main focus is silver, where is the price of silver heading? Higher way higher or as Bill at www.LeMetropoleCafe.com says TO THE MOON.

The reason silver is heading higher is supply and demand. Read Ted Butlers work at www.butlerresearch.com/archive_free.html  or Jason’s at www.silverstockreport.com/

Silver is precious, not for the price but for what it is.

The next big thing in medical research will be silver; they will rediscover all the things silver was capable of doing before the big drug companies came along.

Silver one day will be priced as high or higher than gold, because we consume silver and we store gold, so silver will become rare in the future [50 years?]. There is only so much silver in the earth’s crust.  By keeping the price low they have discouraged doing research to look for alternatives for silver.

Draw a yearly silver chart of the prices for the last 35 years with inflation factored in and the price has not moved.  All that has happened is that the purchasing power of the dollar has dropped.

If one cut a little off a yard stick each year the same as what the dollar has lost in purchasing power  we would have about a 2 inch yardstick.  Would anyone use it?  Would anyone draw a chart using a yard as a standard of measurement? No. Then why compare past dollars to today’s dollar. It is useless information.

New highs or new lows. Where are all the new highs in the commodities??????

In 1964 one could buy a gallon of gas for 50 cents, I can still buy a gallon of gas for the same 50 cents.

The reason is that the 50 cents was silver, which in our funny money today is worth about $5.00, the cost of a gallon of gas today. Real money maintains its purchasing power.

Wm. J. [Bill] Murray

President

Silver Phoenix Resources Inc.

www.minersmanual.com

bill@minersmanual.com

Tel: 1-250-832-0336 

"From the prospector comes the salt of the earth"

                                                 : Wm. J. Murray