Copper has hit another record high, with U.S. futures settling at $6.6495/lb, up 38% from a year ago. And the move is being driven by a simple problem: the world needs more copper, but supply is struggling to keep up.
Mine disruption risk has become the core issue.
Sulphuric acid shortages could threaten copper production in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chile. Sulphuric acid is critical for solvent extraction and electrowinning, a process that accounts for 17% of global copper supply. Goldman said extended disruption could curtail 125,000 tonnes of DRC output in 2026, while China’s sulphuric acid export ban could put 200,000 tonnes of Chilean production at risk.
That comes as the copper market is already dealing with lower mine supply growth, project delays and a thin pipeline of new production. Bank of America’s copper forecast points to industry-wide mine supply disruptions and resilient demand, with pressure from major assets including Grasberg, El Teniente, Kamoa-Kakula, Cobre Panamá and Quebrada Blanca II.
Demand is also changing. Copper is no longer just a housing and construction metal. It is now a power-grid, data-centre, defence and electrification metal.
Reuters reported on copper demand from AI data centres that AI training data centres in China can use 47 tonnes of copper per megawatt installed, compared with 21 tonnes per megawatt for crypto data centres, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. S&P Global expects copper demand from data centres and related infrastructure to rise from 1.1 million tonnes in 2025 to 2.5 million tonnes by 2040.
The bull case is now moving higher.
Goldman Sachs has raised its year-end copper forecast to $13,735/t, citing supply issues and stronger U.S. import demand, according to the WSJ commodities market update.
Bank of America expects copper to average $11,313/t in 2026 and $13,501/t in 2027, with strategists seeing prices peaking at $15,000/t, equivalent to $6.80/lb.
The caution is that AI demand is still hard to model. Reuters notes that grid connection delays, power constraints, equipment shortages and changes in data-centre architecture could limit how quickly demand materialises.
But the direction of travel is clear: copper has moved from industrial bellwether to strategic bottleneck.
And at record prices, the market is sending the same message again — supply is not arriving fast enough.