World supplies of copper continue to be uncertain in the short term. Strikes hamper Chile’s Escondida mine and Peru’s Cerro Verde, and Indonesia’s Grasberg mine suffers from Indonesian government export restrictions. Consequently, both Freeport and Asarco are ramping up production at their Arizona mine operations, but the process can take at least 90 days. In spite of these factors, copper increases have been slow and sporadic, thus far. Since economic indicators remain strong and depending on demand from China, it’s reasonable that we can expect continued increases moving into construction season.