Copper Prices Hit All-Time High, Touching $6.90 Per Pound
N.R. Finch
U.S. copper futures touched a record $6.90 per pound intraday before pulling back — but the forces behind this rally have shifted from broad economic growth to AI-driven power demand and a supply squeeze on multiple fronts, rewriting how copper is priced.
Can "Dr. Copper" still diagnose the economy?
Copper has long been called "Dr. Copper" — shorthand for the idea that copper prices track global economic health. William Osnato, director at Barchart, told CNBC this time is different.
This means → the rally is not fueled by "the whole world is growing." It is driven by data centers and power grids buying copper for AI expansion — a narrower, deeper source of demand.
In plain terms = copper used to rise because construction was booming everywhere. Now it rises because AI needs so much electricity that grids and server farms are consuming copper at scale.
What went wrong on the supply side?
Michael Widmer, head of metals research at Bank of America, argues this rally is primarily supply-driven. Chile — the world's largest copper producer — saw mining disrupted by blizzards, heavy rain, and high winds. Mine supply growth was already weak.
Policy is tightening too. The U.S. imposed a 50% tariff on semi-finished copper and copper-intensive derivatives under Section 232. China restricted scrap-copper supply. Both moves squeezed global availability.
Thursday's final breakout was triggered directly by the Democratic Republic of Congo banning exports of copper and cobalt concentrate — a major producing nation pushing for domestic processing.
What is adding demand on top?
In the first half of this year, China's power-grid investment rose 13% year-on-year, with a roughly $574 billion grid-upgrade plan announced. This means → electrification demand from China alone is pulling copper at an enormous scale.
Osnato noted that supply disruptions have forced consumers to draw metal from London Metal Exchange (LME) warehouses, and falling inventories are in turn pushing up refining costs.
In plain terms = not enough ore → buyers raid warehouse stocks → warehouses run low → processing costs climb. The entire chain is stretched tight.
Can copper hold at these highs?
Whether the price holds depends on two threads: how long supply disruptions in Chile and the Congo export ban persist, and whether global electrification investment can offset the drag from slowing macro growth.
This reflects a fracturing of copper's pricing framework — short-term, it tracks supply accidents; medium-to-long-term, it tracks structural AI and grid demand. The old "strong economy → copper rises" logic no longer covers it.
Osnato put it plainly: "For Dr. Copper, this really is a whole new ball game."
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.