Copper prices rose on Monday, attempting to recover from recent losses as banks continued to issue more cautious forecasts for the industrial metal amid weakening demand.

Goldman Sachs lowered its average copper price forecast for 2026 to $12,650 per ton, down from its previous estimate of $12,850 per ton, citing weaker demand expectations as global economic growth slows. However, the bank maintained its positive long-term view, supported by the global shift toward electrification and clean energy.

Goldman now expects the global copper market to record a surplus of 490,000 tons this year, up from its previous estimate of 380,000 tons, after cutting its forecast for global refined copper demand growth to 1.6% year-on-year from 2% previously.

The revision followed the bank’s economists’ expectations that the energy price shock caused by disruptions in the Middle East would reduce global GDP growth by around 0.4 percentage point.

Goldman said the downgrade to copper demand was smaller than its cut to aluminum demand, explaining that copper’s growing role as a strategic and structural metal in the global economy makes it less exposed to global economic cycles.

Analysts led by Aurelia Waltham said the demand revision for copper was less severe than for aluminum because of the increasingly strategic and structural nature of copper demand.

In trading on Monday, copper futures for September delivery rose 0.8% to $6.22 per pound as of 15:29 GMT.

Short-term volatility, long-term optimism

In the near term, the analyst team said copper prices are likely to remain volatile, but could find support if economic conditions stabilize.

Under Goldman’s base-case scenario, which assumes energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz begin recovering from mid-April, copper prices are expected to average $12,700 per ton in the second quarter of 2026, before gradually easing toward the bank’s estimated fair value of $12,000 per ton in the second half of the year.

Goldman also warned that current prices may not be fully supported by market fundamentals. Even after the March correction, copper is still trading well above the bank’s estimated 2026 fair value of around $11,100 per ton, leaving it vulnerable to further declines if the economic outlook deteriorates or investors move to reduce risk exposure.

The analysts also noted that their forecasts do not factor in any potential supply disruptions from the Middle East.

They pointed out that the Democratic Republic of Congo, which relies on sulfur shipped through the Strait of Hormuz for a key stage of copper production, accounts for around 15% of global mined copper output.

Industry feedback suggests producers in the Democratic Republic of Congo have sulfuric acid inventories sufficient for up to three months, meaning any short-term disruption would likely have a limited impact. However, a longer-lasting interruption could tighten supply and reduce the expected market surplus.

Despite these risks, Goldman kept its long-term forecast unchanged, expecting copper prices to rise to $15,000 per ton by 2035.

The bank believes Middle East tensions could reinforce the shift toward electrification and clean energy, estimating that power grids and energy infrastructure will account for around 60% of global copper demand growth through 2030.

Bitcoin held above the $63,000 mark on Monday, extending a recovery that saw the cryptocurrency gain nearly 7% over the previous five sessions. Easing risk aversion across broader financial markets helped support the rebound, while Pump.fun and Hyperliquid led gains among major digital assets over the past 24 hours.

The overall sentiment in the cryptocurrency market has improved modestly following Bitcoin’s rebound from the $60,000 level last week. Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh said last week that inflation risks have eased, citing the ongoing ceasefire and improving shipping activity through the Strait of Hormuz.

CoinMarketCap’s Fear & Greed Index rose to 29 on Monday from 17 a week earlier, signaling that market sentiment has improved from "extreme fear" to simply "fear" as risk appetite gradually recovers.

Limited recovery amid a broader downtrend

The total cryptocurrency market capitalization climbed to $2.21 trillion at the start of Monday's session before slipping back to $2.18 trillion. Despite the pullback, the market remains more than 5% higher than it was a week ago.

However, the latest advance is still viewed as a corrective rebound rather than a trend reversal, as the market failed to break above the previous local peak near $2.27 trillion. Until that level is reclaimed, the broader trend remains bearish, with lower highs and lower lows still in place.

Market sentiment has continued to improve gradually, rising by roughly one point per day since July 3 and reaching 24 points by July 6. Although sentiment remains within the extreme fear zone, it has reached its highest level in more than a month, suggesting that pessimism is beginning to ease.

Bitcoin closed last week near $63,000 after reclaiming its 200-week moving average, a key historical support level. The price briefly approached $64,000 on Sunday, but buying momentum faded on Monday and renewed selling pressure pushed Bitcoin roughly $1,000 lower.

ETF outflows continue

According to SoSoValue data, spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded net outflows of approximately $526.6 million during the shortened trading week, extending the streak of weekly outflows to eight consecutive weeks.

Meanwhile, spot Ethereum ETFs saw much smaller net outflows of just $13.7 million during the same period.

CryptoQuant warns of rising volatility

CryptoQuant warned that deposits of Bitcoin and alternative cryptocurrencies onto exchanges have increased significantly, a development that has historically preceded periods of elevated volatility in the crypto market.

A similar surge in exchange inflows occurred before Bitcoin fell from $82,000 in early May to below $58,000 by the end of June.

A market setup similar to 2022?

An analyst at Rekt Capital believes the current market structure resembles the conditions seen in 2022 and expects Bitcoin’s decline to continue. The analyst noted that previous cryptocurrency market cycles typically reached their final bottom roughly one year after the last major price peak.

Meanwhile, JPMorgan said the launch of the Strateg Alexigi Bitcoin reserve liquidation mechanism has created what it described as "avoidable two-sided risks" for the market, arguing that the mere possibility of such transactions increases uncertainty and volatility.

Industry developments

Japanese financial group SBI announced the closure of its mining operation. SBI Crypto, which accounts for roughly 2% of Bitcoin’s global hash rate, will cease operations on July 31.

At the same time, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin outlined the main pillars of the project’s future "Lean Ethereum" roadmap, including enhanced quantum resistance, stronger privacy features, greater scalability, and a restructuring of core protocol components.

Oil prices declined on Monday after OPEC+ agreed to increase production targets starting in August, while exports from major producers through the Strait of Hormuz continue to recover, potentially boosting global supply.

Brent crude futures fell 41 cents, or 0.57%, to $71.71 per barrel by 09:42 GMT after closing 0.45% higher on Friday.

US West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 37 cents, or 0.54%, to $68.32 per barrel. There was no official settlement for US crude on Friday due to the closure of US markets ahead of the Independence Day holiday.

Both benchmarks posted relatively limited movements last week following several weeks of declines, as investors continued to monitor talks between the United States and Iran regarding the future of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, while also tracking the recovery of Gulf oil exports.

OPEC+ increases production targets

The OPEC+ alliance, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies led by Russia, agreed on Sunday to raise production targets by 188,000 barrels per day starting in August, following similar increases implemented in June and July.

However, much of the planned increase has remained largely theoretical due to the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, which led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to tanker traffic from several major OPEC producers, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq, limiting their ability to increase exports.

Tamas Varga, analyst at PVM Associates, said producers are "selling into a falling market, which offers little hope for an immediate price recovery," adding that lower oil prices could eventually stimulate demand.

Gulf exports recovering

Data showed Gulf oil exports increased by more than 3 million barrels per day in June compared with May, surpassing 10 million barrels per day. However, exports remain roughly 40% below levels seen before the outbreak of the conflict.

ANZ Bank said it expects global oil demand to contract by approximately 1.5 million barrels per day in 2026, citing a sharper-than-expected economic slowdown during the second quarter. According to preliminary data, annual demand declines could reach as much as 4 million barrels per day during that period.

The bank added that demand losses are expected to moderate in the second half of the year as supply conditions improve and part of the deferred demand returns to the market.

Signs of growing spot supply

Trading sources reported that the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) sold around 16 million barrels of UAE crude at deeper discounts through its fifth spot tender since June, signaling growing spot market supply.

Separately, the Ukrainian military announced on Monday that it carried out overnight strikes targeting oil refineries in Russia's Yaroslavl and Leningrad regions.

Silver prices fell nearly 1.5% in European trading on Monday, starting the new week on a weaker note and retreating from a two-week high reached earlier during Asian trading. The decline was driven by profit-taking and corrective selling, as well as pressure from a stronger US dollar in the foreign exchange market.

Investors are awaiting key US services sector data later today, while the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting, due on Wednesday, are expected to provide fresh clues about the outlook for US interest rates.

The Price

• Silver prices fell about 1.5% to $61.56 per ounce, down from an opening level of $62.38, after reaching an intraday high of $63.27, the highest level since June 23.

• At Friday’s settlement, silver gained 2.3%, marking its fourth consecutive daily advance, supported by weaker US Treasury yields and a softer dollar.

• The white metal rose 5.5% last week, posting its first weekly gain in three weeks and its strongest weekly performance since May, as expectations for further US interest rate hikes eased.

US dollar

The US Dollar Index rose more than 0.2% on Monday, extending gains for a second consecutive session as the greenback continued to recover from a two-week low, reflecting broader strength against a basket of major and secondary currencies.

Several analysts maintained a positive outlook for the US dollar, suggesting it could appreciate by a modest 2%–3% during the second half of 2026.

US interest rates

• According to the CME FedWatch Tool, markets currently price a 76% probability that the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates unchanged at its July meeting, while the probability of a 25-basis-point rate hike stands at 24%.

• For December, markets assign a 24% probability to unchanged rates and a 76% probability to a 25-basis-point increase.

• Investors are awaiting today's ISM report on US services sector activity for June, which could provide important insight into the strength of economic activity and influence interest rate expectations.

• On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will release the minutes of its first monetary policy meeting under Chairman Kevin Warsh, which are expected to offer clearer guidance on the path of US interest rates for the remainder of the year.