If a wave of heists in which robbers steal the metals in the United Kingdom is any indication, copper and nickel ETFs are becoming a hot commodity. Hundreds of tons of nickel and copper from a Liverpool warehouse were stolen in May, the latest in a rash of commodity heists spurred by higher prices. Andrea Hotter and Liam Pleven for The Wall Street Journal report that the metals were taken from Liverpool’s docklands area that was owned by warehousing company Henry Bath & Son, a unit of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. Several million pounds were taken. What’s interesting is that copper prices are actually down right now. Diane L. Chu for Commodity Online reports that copper prices are about 10% off their year-ago price. But as demand from China and other emerging markets wanes, India seems to be picking up the slack. According to Commodity Surge, nickel prices are set to surge as demand exceeds supply. As with many other commodities these days, nickel prices are largely dominated by the Chinese market, and at this point that is anything but predictable. If the Chinese demand surges by the anticipated 18.6%, or to about 510,000 tons, prices may spike. Rather than steal, you might find it easier to just use ETFs: iPath DJ-UBS AIG Copper ETN (JJC) First Trust ISE Global Copper (CU) Global X Copper Miners ETF (COPX) iPath DJ-AIG Nickel Total Return Sub-Index ETN (JJN) iPath Dow Jones-UBS Nickel Subindex Total Return Callable ETN (JJNC)

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