VirtualBacon
Crypto Investor & Educator, Macro Analysis
Copper could see extreme demand from the AI buildout over the next few years, enough that $8,000 may end up being the Wave 5 target zone. x.comÂ
Copper is heading toward a potential supply crunch as tariff fears tighten global supply just as AI data centers, renewables and power grids demand more of it than ever. Prices just hit a record $14,533 per ton. x.comÂ
Copper will follow the AI trade lower, making it a good catch-up short. x.comÂ
Copper's rally is driven by grid buildout and AI-driven power demand pulling physical inventory tighter than the futures curve reflects. The move started well before anyone was pricing a Fed pivot; the rate story is the narrative people reach for after the fact, not the driver. x.comÂ
Credo's interconnect opportunity grows as campus-scale AI clusters require more links to validate and integrate. The OCP 2026 meeting takeaway is that complex requirements put interconnect at the center, with both copper and optical links set to benefit. x.comÂ
Copper is not a bullish play, as it is arguably used more as a transitional tool over the next two years. That holds even though NVIDIA's CEO said they will need more copper, alongside optics and CPO. x.comÂ
Copper is becoming the oil of the AI era because the energy transition, AI data centers and military rearmament are all hitting a supply curve locked by geology and time. Ore grades have fallen from 0.8% in 2000 to 0.46%, and new mines now take about 18 years to develop. Per S&P Global, mine output peaks in 2029, with a 2.2Mt concentrate deficit by 2032; the IEA sees mines meeting only about 70% of demand by 2035. Per CRU, data center copper demand rises from 260kt in 2025 to over 650kt by 2030. … Show more
Copper's structural deficit does not yet look priced in, with the copper/gold ratio still near multi-decade lows. JPMorgan forecasts a 330kt copper deficit in 2026, AI data centers may need over 1 million tons a year by 2030, EVs use about 4x the copper of gas cars, new mines take 15-20 years to build, and ore grades have declined for decades. x.comÂ
Southern Copper is a critical upstream supplier to AI: it doesn't make AI software or chips, but mines the copper the massive physical infrastructure behind AI requires. It fits a relevant theme flagged by a proprietary algorithm. x.comÂ
AI infrastructure, cloud and advertising monetization, critical-material demand and chipmaking technology underpin a cross-sector list of 25 stocks expected to go parabolic. The named drivers include HBM for AI data centers, custom silicon and optical networking, Netflix's ad tier, lithium for EVs, uranium for nuclear energy and copper for electrification. x.comÂ