Copper may be entering the early innings of a multi-year bull market, according to research circulating this week.
The core argument from analysts in this camp: supply is quietly breaking down while demand keeps climbing. On the supply side, researchers point to falling ore grades, aging mine infrastructure, and a thinning pipeline of high-quality assets — problems that take years, not quarters, to fix. On the demand side, the published view highlights a stacked set of drivers: infrastructure spending, the AI data center buildout, electric vehicles, and ongoing industrialization across emerging markets.
A notable wrinkle in the research: copper demand has historically held up even through recessions, which some analysts argue limits the downside in a slowdown scenario.
The directional call from this thread of research is that copper prices one to two years out will sit meaningfully above today's levels, though the path there is expected to be volatile rather than smooth.