Welcome to yet another edition, chief!

In today’s edition — After the rally in silver and gold, copper is starting to catch up. Prices are going up because of growing demand from power grids, electric vehicles and data centres for AI, while new supply remains slow to arrive.

It’s Copper’s Moment in the Sun

Vishwas Ved

The rally in metal prices has been the talk of the town over the past year. 

In the race, silver has bagged a gold medal with a surge of about 190%, while gold, with about 70% gains, is happy holding a silver medal.

And now a third metal is racing ahead for the bronze, with a gain of about 40% over the past year. It’s copper. 

It is rising for certain reasons and we’ll talk about them in a bit. 

But before that, let’s first take you back to the 2000s.

Metal merchants back then started noticing something unusual — copper was on fire.

Prices had gone out of control between 2003 and 2007, jumping four times from about $2,000 to over $8,000 per metric tonne.

It turned out that China was the real catalyst. 

After joining the WTO in 2001, the Dragon went on an infra binge, making sizable investments in power grids, highways, factories, and ports, all of which needed tonnes and tonnes of copper.

Demand exploded as a result, but supply couldn’t keep up.

Wary traders made the most predictable and unimaginative move: they either bought more copper or sat on stockpiles and watched prices go even higher. 

The rally was so strong that even the crash of 2008, which roiled the world economy, could not make a significant dent in copper.

The same story with a different plot is playing out in the metal today.

Growing Use

Earlier this month, copper crossed $13,000 per metric tonne on the London Metal Exchange, after rising more than 40% in 2025. 

As in the 2000s, the demand pressure this time did not come from a single source; it came from multiple points. 

First, electricity. Power grids that heavily use copper are being expanded as electricity consumption worldwide is going through the roof. Even renewable energy setups require copper all the way from generation to transmission. 

Second, electric vehicles and their charging networks have also added to the demand that is likely to stay around for many years to come.

Third, data centres, including those for AI applications, depend on copper for wiring, cooling systems, and backup power. The usage of AI has picked up, and so has the demand for its core infrastructure. According to Forbes, data centers could gobble half a million tons of copper a year by 2030. 

Much of this copper is locked into place once installed. Meaning, it won't return to the market quickly for recycling.

Impact of Trump Tariffs

The infamous Trump tariffs have had a spillover effect on copper prices as well. According to reports, fears of possible US tariffs on copper products turned several regular merchants into hoarders. 

This change of behaviour among buyers has caused an imbalance in inventories, with stockpiles becoming scarce at some hubs while building up elsewhere.

As a result, though refined copper demand softened briefly in late 2025, its procurement through most of the year remained firm.

Slow Supply

By all estimates, copper supply did not respond at the same speed in the 2000s, and it does not respond quickly now. 

That’s why questions are being asked: if demand built up over the years, why couldn’t supply keep pace?

That’s because most copper mines take many years to develop. And then there are environmental approvals in the picture, financial considerations, and construction constraints.

These things take time, and no matter how hard you try, you cannot fast-forward them. That’s why even when prices rise or scarcity comes, new supply does not arrive immediately. 

Also, there are several existing mines facing declining ore quality. 

Lower-grade ore means more material has to be processed to produce the same amount of copper. As a result, costs rise, and output growth becomes harder to sustain.

An analysis by the International Energy Agency predicts that supplies of the metal will fall 30% short of the amount required by 2035 if nothing is done.

That is where the copper market stands now. And in all likelihood, copper will bag the bronze for being the third most sought-after metal in the past year.

$1.2 Trillion

China this week reported a record trade surplus of nearly $1.2 trillion in 2025, led by booming exports to non-US markets as producers ​looked to build global scale to fend off sustained pressure from the Trump administration. A push by policymakers for Chinese firms to diversify beyond the world's top consumer market by shifting ‌focus to Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America paid dividends, cushioning the economy against US tariffs and geopolitical frictions since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year.

—SC warns of ‘heavy compensation’ for dog bites. The Supreme Court this week warned that states will likely pay a compensation for 'not doing anything' for every dog bite that leads to death or injury.The apex court also asked for accountability from those claiming to be dog feeders, telling them to continue their activity from their house. "For every dog bite, death or injury caused to children or elderly, we are likely going to fix heavy compensation from the state for not doing anything. Also, liability and accountability on those who are saying we are feeding dogs. Do it, take them to your house. Why should dogs be littering around, biting, scaring people?" the court said.

—Apple picks Google’s Gemini to run Siri. Apple is joining forces with Google to power its artificial intelligence features, including a major Siri upgrade expected later this year. The multiyear partnership will lean on Google’s Gemini and cloud technology for future Apple foundational models, according to a joint statement obtained by CNBC’s Jim Cramer. “After careful evaluation, we determined that Google’s technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models and we’re excited about the innovative new experiences it will unlock for our users,” Apple said in a statement Monday.

—Alphabet hits $4 trillion market capitalisation. Google parent company Alphabet has become the fourth member of the $4 trillion club. Alphabet shares popped 1% Monday, after Apple said it would use Google’s Gemini for the foundation of its artificial intelligence models and the next generation of Siri. The stock closed at $331.86, putting Alphabet’s market cap just over $4 trillion. The search company joins Nvidia, Microsoft and Apple as the few companies that have crossed the $4 trillion mark. 

—Dimon warns Trump's credit card cap would hurt the economy. Top JPMorgan executives including CEO Jamie Dimon warned President Donald Trump's proposed 10% cap on credit card interest rates would severely hurt ​consumers, adding their voices to growing industry pushback. Trump, who is under pressure to address voters' cost of living concerns ahead of this year's congressional elections, ‌last week on his social media platform Truth Social proposed the cap for one year starting Jan. 20, in a surprise move that blindsided the industry and sent financial banking stocks tumbling. .

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Missed last week's update? In December, courts handed the tax department a red card when it played outside the lines in two instances — first, by wrongly recovering tax from a company which was in no way involved in the dispute, and second by asking a business to respond to fraud allegations without sharing any details.

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