Copper prices are set to quadruple in the next four years or so to hit $40,000 per ton as electrification and renewable energy rollout accelerates, hedge fund manager Pierre Andurand told the Financial Times in an interview published on Friday. The world will see demand for copper double due to the energy transition, military usage, and soaring numbers of data centers that support AI technologies, according to the hedge fund manager who is a top energy derivatives trader.
The move higher early this week lacked a specific trigger, and analysts say that the record-high prices right now are not justified by fundamentals in the short term. “Speculators have been piling into copper on the bullish narrative around tightening supply. However, recent price action is detached from short-term fundamentals, which are less supportive,” ING strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote in a note on Tuesday. “Demand indicators from China are still poor.