Answering seven burning client questions on copper supply and demand

Copper is the backbone of the global energy transition, powering everything from electric vehicles (EVs) and data centres to renewable grids and defence infrastructure. As demand grows, however, the copper industry faces myriad challenges: a growing supply crunch, geopolitical fragmentation and escalating investment hurdles.  

Our analysts recently answered some of our clients’ most burning copper questions in our 'Horizons Live: High-wire act' webinar. Fill in the form at the top of the page to see our analysts’ responses to the top seven questions and read on for a taster. 

Q. What are the main issues likely to affect the copper outlook? 

A. Demand expectations for copper continue to grow thanks to the energy transition, growth in electric vehicles (EV), renewables, grid infrastructure and the rapid industrialisation of India and Southeast Asia. Then there are the newcomers to the market in the form of data-centre demand growth and defence spending. All of this, in our base-case scenario, leads to 24% growth in the next 10 years.  

However, there is still major potential upside risk from a faster-than-expected energy transition, India's economic development and the fact that data-centre demand could be stronger than expected. This all comes at a time when we are seeing major supply gaps emerging in the copper market. 

Major miners have been focused on mergers and acquisitions over project development, and we see copper prices needing to exceed US$11,000 per tonne to incentivise adequate supply in the near term. But supply disruptions are continuing to intensify, and we see this growing in future as miners contend with more underground mining, climate risks and geopolitical issues. 

This could all create greater price volatility for copper in the near future. 

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