Ammu-nomics

We’ve looked at how the rising cost of metals has changed the value of the coins in your pocket, the pipes in your walls, and the parts under your car. It turns out that gun lovers and local police have been looking at it, too.

Consider the bullet. Basically, it’s made of lead wrapped in a jacket of copper or brass — all metals which have shot up in price over the last five years. Fueled by soaring demand in China, the per-pound price of copper alone has risen from under a dollar, in 2004, to around four dollars today.

The price of lead has risen so much that thieves have begun peeling lead strips from the roofs of churches in England.

Those high metal prices, combined with increased military demand for ammo overseas, has driven up the cost of bullets enough that some police departments around the country have had to cut back on training at the firing range. While live-fire training cutbacks worry some in law-enforcement, there’s no danger of police running short of slugs for officers on patrol.

For police and gun enthusiasts alike, ammunition prices are only likely to get higher. Global copper production is expected to drop slightly over the next year in the face of rising demand, The Australian reports, which could push the price of copper up as high as $5.44 per pound.

(Hat tip: Greg)