Copper is on fire, following gold as a precious metal reaching record values. Should you start investing in it?

Gold had a historic run last year and silver soared 210%, but now it looks like copper (up 35% in 2025 to $11,771 per metric ton) is the next metal to watch.

It’s a classic case of supply and demand. Analysts predict a shortfall of 150,000 tonnes in global copper supply in 2025 (1).

Meanwhile, demand for copper—used in electrical grids and everything from computers to light switches to washing machines—is insatiable.

Mining megalith BHP predicts that the growth of global data centers will increase demand for copper six-fold by 2050. Developing economies will increase that demand as their living standards improve (2).

Reuters reports that the world’s first physically backed ETF for copper, launched by Canada’s Sprott Asset Management in 2024, rose almost 46% in price in 2025 (3). This follows the performance of gold, whose values ​​will rise more than 60% in 2025.

So what’s next for this metal in 2026 and how should average investors respond to this latest market trend?

In the United States, people have started hoarding copper out of fear that it could be subject to tariffs in mid-2026.

That is compounding supply challenges and driving up the price.

Analysts follow copper as an economic indicator as it reflects investor sentiment about the performance of the US market.

Gold had a historic year in 2025 precisely because investors feared what tariffs, global tensions and other difficult economic conditions could do to the stock market.

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“Gold has hit new all-time highs in its brilliant bull run,” Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, told bbc in January (4).

“The precious metal has even more appeal as a safe haven as concerns grow over the fallout from aggressive US trade and geopolitical policies.”

Copper, like silver and gold, is increasingly seen as a safe haven asset.

In an interview with ReutersBenchmark Mineral Intelligence analyst Daan de Jonge suggested that investors interested in AI consider investing in copper-related ETFs.

But investing all your money in copper may not be wise, as the rise in prices may not last. In fact, Goldman Sachs predicts that copper prices will fall in 2026 (5).

As with any investment, trying to beat the market is difficult, even for professionals. The average investor should stick to index funds and other types of diversified investing rather than individual stocks or investing heavily in individual commodities.

However, if you are determined to turn copper into a gold mine, buying ETFs, as De Jonge suggests, or investing in mining companies that have an asset portfolio that includes copper mines, may be a safer bet.

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CNBC (1); BHP (2); Reuters (3); BBC (4); Goldman Sachs (5)

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