Copper is caught between a near-term pullback and a longer-run structural bull case, according to research published this week.
On the bearish side, one camp of analysts points to three converging headwinds: tech-executive calls to slow AI development, which cools enthusiasm for data-centre buildouts; rising exchange inventories that suggest the market is less tight than it was; and a firmer US dollar with traders positioning cautiously ahead of the Fed. A separate strand of recent research echoes the AI concern and adds that White House tariffs on Chinese EVs are weighing on the demand outlook, with speculative long positions already being unwound and the LME testing the $14,000 level.
A contrarian thread argues the bigger picture is more constructive: China's systematic accumulation of real assets, copper included, as part of a reserve-diversification and manufacturing-supply strategy should support demand over the long term.
The published views aren't really in conflict — they describe different time horizons: tactical softness now, structural tightness later.