Copper prices continue to rise, extending their rally as metals markets head toward a fourth consecutive weekly gain. This advance reflects a combination of tight global supply, steady demand expectations linked to the electrification transition, and renewed investor interest in base metals.

Despite some buyers stepping back at record levels, the broader market trend remains positive, keeping copper firmly in focus for traders, manufacturers, and long-term investors.

This move comes at a time when copper is no longer viewed merely as a traditional industrial metal, but increasingly as a strategic asset tied to electric vehicles, renewable energy, power grid upgrades, and global infrastructure plans. As prices climb, market participants are asking key questions: why is copper rising now, who is buying, and where could prices head next?

Below is a clear and investor-oriented breakdown of the full picture.

Copper prices today and weekly market performance

Copper prices have traded higher in recent sessions, pushing metals markets toward a fourth straight weekly gain. Across global exchanges, benchmark copper contracts advanced as investors reacted to a mix of supply constraints and long-term optimism around demand.

On the London Metal Exchange, copper prices have remained close to multi-year highs, supported by strong speculative interest and declining visible inventories. Futures markets indicate that traders are adding to positions in anticipation of further upside, despite short-term profit-taking emerging at elevated levels.

Market commentary has highlighted the strength of the metals sector more broadly, linking performance to structural drivers such as AI-related demand, clean technologies, and rising defense-related industrial activity amid higher global military spending.

Why copper prices are rising despite elevated levels

Despite the sharp rally seen over the past year, copper’s upward trend remains intact. While this may appear surprising, several reinforcing factors continue to support prices.

First, global copper supply remains constrained. Many major mines are facing declining ore grades, rising costs, and increasing operational challenges. At the same time, new project development takes years, and investment has yet to fully catch up with projected future demand.

Second, demand linked to the energy transition continues to grow steadily. Copper is essential for electric vehicles, charging infrastructure, solar panels, wind turbines, and power grids. An electric vehicle uses roughly three to four times more copper than a conventional internal combustion car.

Third, financial investors have returned to metals markets as a hedge against inflation and supply-chain risks. With interest-rate expectations stabilizing across major economies, capital is once again flowing into commodities.

China’s role in the copper rally

China remains the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for more than half of global demand. Recent developments show that some Chinese industrial buyers have temporarily pulled back after prices reached record highs, a common pattern under such conditions.

When prices rise rapidly, manufacturers often delay purchases while waiting for potential corrections. This behavior reflects postponement rather than a disappearance of demand.

Crucially, global demand remains strong enough to support prices even with this temporary slowdown from China. Analysts also note that inventory levels within China are not excessive, and any improvement in construction or manufacturing activity could quickly revive strong buying interest.

This balance between cautious buying and tight supply helps explain why prices have remained resilient rather than undergoing a sharp correction.

Copper price outlook and analyst views

Over the medium to long term, many banks and research institutions expect copper prices to remain elevated. Forecasts vary, but several credible projections point to copper trading between $9,500 and $11,000 per tonne over the coming years.

Some longer-term scenarios suggest even higher levels in the second half of the decade if supply continues to lag demand driven by electrification and digital infrastructure expansion.

This optimism is rooted in the view that copper demand is no longer purely cyclical, but increasingly structural. Power grids require modernization, renewable energy capacity is expanding, electric vehicles are gaining market share, and all of these trends are copper-intensive.

As a result, copper has become part of broader investment narratives around artificial intelligence, as analysts link metals demand to data centers, automation, and smart infrastructure.

Copper prices and inventory trends

Low inventory levels remain one of the strongest pillars supporting copper prices. Stocks recorded at major exchanges are still near historically low levels relative to global consumption.

Such tight inventories mean that even minor supply disruptions, whether from weather events, labor strikes, or logistical issues, can trigger sharp price moves.

This environment also encourages financial investors to maintain long positions, reinforcing upward momentum in the market.

How traders are reading copper charts

From a technical perspective, analysts point to the formation of strong support zones near recent breakout levels, while resistance remains concentrated near record highs. Momentum indicators suggest that while periods of consolidation or cooling are possible, the broader trend remains upward.

As a result, many traders are relying on disciplined risk-management strategies while continuing to take advantage of the upside opportunities offered by the copper market.

Oil prices rose on Friday, driven by concerns over potential disruptions to Iranian production, alongside continued uncertainty surrounding oil supplies from Venezuela.

Brent crude futures climbed 50 cents, or 0.8%, to $62.49 a barrel by 13:59 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 51 cents, or 0.9%, to $58.27 a barrel.

Both benchmarks posted gains of more than 3% on Thursday after two consecutive sessions of losses. On a weekly basis, Brent is heading for gains of around 3%, while WTI is up about 1.8%.

Oli Hansen, head of commodities strategy at Saxo Bank, said that “protests in Iran appear to be gaining momentum, prompting markets to worry about potential supply disruptions.”

Civil unrest in Iran, a major oil producer in the Middle East, combined with concerns that the war between Russia and Ukraine could spill over into Russian oil exports, has heightened anxiety over global supply conditions.

At the same time, the White House is scheduled to hold a meeting on Friday with oil companies and trading houses to discuss Venezuelan oil export deals.

US President Donald Trump has demanded that Venezuela grant the United States full access to its oil sector, just days after the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday. US officials have confirmed that Washington will take control of Venezuelan oil sales and revenues for an indefinite period.

US oil major Chevron, along with global trading houses such as Vitol and Trafigura and other firms, is competing to strike deals with the US government to market up to 50 million barrels of oil accumulated in storage by Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA, under a strict oil blockade that has included the seizure of four oil tankers, according to two sources.

Tina Teng, a market analyst at Moomoo ANZ, said that “the market will focus in the coming days on the outcome of these talks to determine how the stored Venezuelan oil will be sold and delivered.”

In Iran, internet monitoring group NetBlocks reported a nationwide internet outage on Thursday, as protests continued in the capital Tehran and major cities such as Mashhad and Isfahan, amid mounting anger over worsening economic conditions.

In a separate development, the Russian military said on Friday it had launched a hypersonic Oreshnik missile at targets inside Ukraine, including energy infrastructure supporting Ukraine’s military-industrial complex, according to a statement from Russia’s defence ministry.

Despite these developments, Haitong Futures noted that global oil inventories are rising, and that surplus supply remains the dominant factor likely to cap gains. The firm added that unless Iran-related risks escalate further, the rebound is likely to remain limited and difficult to sustain.

Bitcoin steadied during Asian trading on Friday after ending the week’s early-year recovery, as markets focused primarily on the upcoming US jobs data in search of clearer signals on the future path of interest rates.

Caution stemming from rising global geopolitical uncertainty also weighed on cryptocurrency prices, with traders largely avoiding high-risk assets.

Bitcoin rose 0.2% to $90,946.4 by 00:34 US Eastern Time (05:34 GMT).

Bitcoin heads for a quiet week amid geopolitical risks

Bitcoin is on track to post modest weekly gains of around 0.4%, after losing the recovery momentum seen at the start of the year, as escalating geopolitical risks curbed investor appetite for cryptocurrencies.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency traded sideways this week after failing to reclaim the $95,000 level.

Heightened global geopolitical risks were a key factor behind Bitcoin’s subdued performance, led by uncertainty surrounding US plans for Venezuela following Washington’s military operation that resulted in the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro over the weekend.

US President Donald Trump indicated that Washington would take control of Venezuelan oil production in the coming years, although the mechanism for doing so remains unclear.

In Asia, geopolitical tensions also pressured markets, as diplomatic frictions between China and Japan escalated this week after Beijing announced certain economic restrictions on Tokyo. The two countries remain at odds over remarks made by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in late 2025 regarding potential military intervention in Taiwan.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs record three straight days of outflows

Rising market caution led US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds to post three consecutive days of heavy outflows this week.

Data from crypto analytics platform SoSoValue showed that institutional investors withdrew more than $1 billion in total from these funds over the three days ending January 8.

This trend marks a sharp reversal from the inflows seen at the start of the year, alongside the pullback in Bitcoin prices.

Cryptocurrency prices today: altcoins fluctuate ahead of jobs report

Broader cryptocurrency prices remained rangebound on Friday as markets turned cautious ahead of the US nonfarm payrolls report.

December nonfarm payrolls data are due later today, with expectations that the report will provide key signals on labor market conditions and have a direct impact on longer-term expectations for US interest rates.

Ethereum, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, rose 0.4% to $3,119.32, while XRP gained 1.2% to $2.1338.

Among other major altcoins, some tokens showed relative strength this week, with XRP among the top performers, posting gains of about 5% on indications of potential supply tightness on major trading platforms.

Solana stood out on Friday, rising 5% and heading for weekly gains of nearly 5%. Cardano added 1.1% and is set for weekly gains of around 1.6%.

Meanwhile, BNB climbed 2% on Friday, bringing its weekly gains to 2.2%.

The dollar edged slightly higher on Friday as markets awaited the release of the US jobs report and prepared for a closely watched ruling by the US Supreme Court on whether President Donald Trump can use emergency powers to impose tariffs.

The December nonfarm payrolls report is expected to clear much of the data distortion caused by last year’s government shutdown, although analysts cautioned that headline figures alone may not be sufficient to clarify the future path of interest rates.

Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said that after a sharp dollar selloff over the past year, the currency still appears oversold, meaning that any upside surprise in today’s jobs data could trigger a strong reaction in the dollar.

The dollar index, which tracks the US currency against a basket of six major peers, fell 9.4% in 2025, marking its largest annual decline since 2017. The index was last up 0.17% at 99.04, after touching its highest level in a month earlier in the session.

Data released on Thursday showed a slight increase in weekly US jobless claims.

Separately, the US Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling later on whether Trump has the authority to use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs without congressional approval. Such a decision could significantly disrupt US trade policy and unsettle months of negotiations with trading partners.

If the ruling goes against Trump, corporate executives, customs brokers, and trade lawyers are bracing for potential legal action to recover nearly $150 billion from the United States.

Francesco Pesole, FX strategist at ING, said markets are increasingly pricing in a jobs report strong enough to keep the Federal Reserve on hold for longer, alongside expectations that the Supreme Court will rule against Trump’s tariffs, adding that both factors may provide only limited support for the dollar.

Interest-rate futures imply an 86% probability that the Federal Reserve will leave rates unchanged at its January 27–28 meeting, up from 68% a month ago, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.

The euro slipped 0.13% to $1.1643 after data showed an unexpected decline in German exports in November, driven by weaker shipments to other EU countries and the United States, while industrial production rose against expectations of a decline.

Against the Japanese yen, the dollar extended gains for a fourth consecutive session, reaching its highest level since December 22 and rising 0.45% to 157.57 yen. This followed data showing household spending in Japan grew unexpectedly in November from a year earlier, signaling stronger consumption ahead of the Bank of Japan’s December rate hike to a 30-year high.

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said the central bank will continue raising borrowing costs if economic conditions and price developments align with its outlook.

The dollar was little changed against the offshore Chinese yuan at 6.9798 after data showed China’s annual consumer inflation accelerated in December to its fastest pace in nearly three years.

However, full-year inflation slowed to its weakest level in 16 years, while producer prices remained in deflation, reinforcing expectations for further stimulus measures to support weak demand.

Elsewhere, sterling slipped to $1.3412, while the Australian and New Zealand dollars came under pressure. The Australian dollar fell 0.25% to $0.6682, while the New Zealand dollar dropped 0.48% to $0.5726, marking a fourth straight session of losses and its lowest level since early December.

In digital asset markets, bitcoin fell 1% to $90,308.05, while ether declined 1.1% to $3,081.79.