Copper took center stage in base metals this week, with research broadly leaning bullish on a structural supply-demand squeeze — though late-week notes flagged crowded positioning.
Multiple analysts framed copper as a core long-term real asset and the key industrial input for AI power buildout, electrification, and grid expansion. Published estimates put demand growth at 2–3% annually against supply described as "falling off a cliff," with one note targeting roughly $15,600 by end of next year, about 10% upside. Supporting arguments included thin ex-US inventories, Chinese refiners cutting output on squeezed margins, and weak scrap flows tightening the refined market. US stockpiling ahead of potential import tariffs was flagged as a swing factor that could eventually release metal back to global buyers.
The bullish tone wasn't universal. One technical read warned that speculative positioning had hit 100th-percentile extremes, with price stuck near one-month lows; a break under $640 could flush crowded longs before the structural story reasserts itself.