Copper prices held near recent highs this week but eased slightly as traders weighed strong long‑term demand against softer short‑term signals from China and rising inventories.
Prices
- Copper traded around US$13,000/t in late February, off recent records but still up strongly year‑on‑year.
- Forecasters see 2026 as a consolidation year in a continuing bull market driven by electrification and grid investment.
Supply and mining
- Exchange inventories are at their highest levels in over 20 years, but analysts see this as timing and logistics rather than true surplus.
- Wood Mackenzie and others still expect mine supply to struggle to keep up, with global output needing to roughly double by mid‑century.
- Major diversified miners (BHP, Rio Tinto, Sandfire, and peers) continue to push copper growth projects, particularly in the Americas and Australia.
Demand and policy
- China’s post‑Lunar New Year restart has been cautious, keeping near‑term demand muted, while energy transition, AI data centres and EVs underpin robust structural demand.
- Analysts highlight processing and permitting bottlenecks, especially in the US, as a growing constraint even when ore is available.