Copper prices have recovered from their low of about $1.28 per pound to around $1.70 now, but still only a fraction of their $4+ high of last year. Copper producers, including Arizona-based Freeport McMoRan and Southern Copper, are seeing stock prices double on average, as a possible signal that investors treat copper as a "proxy" on the global economy, according to a report in Mineweb.com.
Freeport stock is $37.04, down 70.9% from its high but up 135.9% from its low. Southern Copper is at $16.07, down 61.7% from its high, but up 76.2% from its low.