Copper research skewed decisively bullish across the week, with multiple structural tailwinds converging in the published notes.
One thread pointed to upside toward $15,000/ton, citing tight supply, a global industrial upturn, and US-China competition for refined metal — with US tariffs reportedly designed to keep imports flowing. A separate line of analysis flagged near-record concentrate deficits underpinning a "very strong micro story," and argued copper should outperform aluminum in the months ahead on Chinese demand and tech-sector momentum.
Beyond the near-term setup, several notes framed copper as a core beneficiary of the AI capex build-out, ranking European metals and mining highly in equity models tied to data center expansion. Others positioned copper within a longer commodity supercycle — driven by non-OECD industrialization, the energy transition, and Western efforts to build critical mineral supply chains independent of China. Even if AI demand cools, researchers argued, electrification alone should keep the market tight.