Copper ETF: What's The Big Deal?

News of the impending debuts of ETFs backed by physical copper sure has gotten a lot of attention. Copper-backed ETFs have become such a big deal that one might think the issuers fighting to enter the space have found a cure for cancer or solved cold fusion. There was the recent bit about JPMorgan Chase JPM massive $1.5 billion copper trade on the London Mercantile Exchange. RBS has said a copper-backd ETF could boost prices to $4.50 a pound and one analyst quoted in a Financial Times piece said a successful copper ETF could be the difference between copper priced at $8,500 per ton and $10,000 per ton. Remember, the red industrial metal has never traded above $9,000 per ton. So as JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank DB, iShares and ETF Securities race to bring the first ballyhooed physical copper ETF to market investors may do well to, gasp, pay this even minimal attention. The reason is simple: In the ETF world, there are already exceptional ways to play copper. Meaning the miners. This is a trend that has already made itself clear with gold and silver. Gold mining ETFs, such as the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF GDX and the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF GDXJ have outperformed funds like the SPDR Gold Shares GLD. Sure, the iShares Silver Trust SLV has been on fire, but the Global X Silver Miners ETF SIL has been even better. When it comes to copper, the iPath DJ-UBS Copper TR Sub-Index ETN JJC hasn't disappointed. On the other hand, the First Trust ISE Global Copper Index CU and the Global X Copper Miners ETF COPX have left JJC in the dust. So when it comes to a physical copper ETF, it might be fair to say "No big deal." *Performance data is for the last three months.