1. Why are steel and copper prices so different? Don't both depends on the recovery of the economy? I think steel is used more in cars and planes while copper is used more for the construction of homes? Why has copper gone up so much while steel has stayed flat? Why is there more demand for copper while steel has stayed put? Don't metals typically trade together? 2. Sorry if this question comes off as "tell me what stock to buy so I can earn money" I'm sorry. I would like to figure out a thought process when determining the answer to something like this. But say I wanted to buy X or AKS or NUE given the low price of steel. what factors go into this decision? Balance sheet? How does the company look on paper? Has the market priced this info in already ( a company could be a good company but the market has already priced that in, so it isnt a good buy.) What else?
1) Copper can have more "demand" because it is an exchange-traded product that can attract "excess speculation" and "hot money". 2) If a decent steel-related contract were developed, steel could then trade in a more volatile fashion. 3) Those people already involved in the business of steel may thwart efforts to develop such a contract because it would take away pricing power from established players already in the cash market.
1) When I say "exchange traded", I am refering to futures and options on futures. I don't believe there are any USA-based contracts availble for steel trading. There may be something overseas. 2) I give very little attention to stocks and ETF's. Considering the proliferation of ETF's, there may be something that is specific to steel that has decent liquidity.