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.
"I think we could end up to $40,000 per tonne over the next four years or so," Andurand told FT.
"I'm not saying it will stay there then; eventually we will get a supply response, but that supply response will take more than five years."
Andurand's call comes in the week in which copper prices hit a record-high after breaking above $11,000 per ton on Monday.
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."
"While it is difficult to call a top in the current market, we do not believe the recent move is sustainable. We only need to look at the recent price action in cocoa and coffee to see how quickly this trend can reverse as speculators head for the exit," they added.
Copper prices slumped on Wednesday and Thursday as profit-taking followed the rally to record highs.
"While the long-term outlook remains very supportive the depth of the correction will depend on the level of long liquidation pressure from hedge funds," Saxo Bank said on Thursday.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
Tsvetana is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing for news outlets such as iNVEZZ and SeeNews. More
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