The price of copper has rallied to an all-time high amid surging demand for the red industrial metal.
Copper’s price reached a record $6.69 U.S. per pound, or $14,106.50 U.S. a ton, on the London Metal Exchange during trading on May 12.
It’s the highest level that copper has been at since January of this year and takes the metal’s year-to-date gain to 17%.
Analysts attribute the rise in copper’s price to declining inventory levels as demand for the metal rises amid the worldwide artificial intelligence (A.I.) buildout.
As a highly conductive metal, copper is widely used in electrical wiring and industrial machinery, including in A.I. data centers.
At the same time, copper’s price has been rising due to disruptions at leading mine sites in Africa and Indonesia.
Commodities analysts forecast that copper’s price will continue rising in the near-term due to declining inventories and strong global demand.
Scotiabank (TSX: $BNS) projects that the global copper market will experience a deficit of 350,000 tons by 2027.
“It very much is the perfect storm for copper to the upside, in that the supply side is very challenged despite high pricing,” wrote Scotiabank in a note to clients.
