Copper Hits Record $6.95, Outshining Gold in 2026

On September 22, copper futures reached a new all-time high of $6.95 per pound, reigniting debate about whether the industrial metal may be closing the gap with gold as a store of value.

This rally caps a year in which copper and gold have headed in opposite directions.

Copper Outpaces Gold’s Flat Year

Copper's roughly 20% gain this year puts it on track for one of its strongest years ever. Over the past 12 months, the increase tops 46%. The rally has been supported by Michael Burry's copper bet and tightening supply.

Gold, by contrast, has barely budged, adding just 0.02% over the same period.

That flat performance masks gold's more dramatic moves. It surged past $5,600 an ounce in late January 2026 on safe-haven demand, then crashed within days and has spent months recovering toward breakeven.

Copper's strength comes from different sources. Shanghai warehouse stocks of copper cathode dropped to 43,900 tonnes, the lowest since 2023. London Metal Exchange (LME) inventories available to the market fell to 133,725 tonnes.

In early September, a stalled US tariff plan briefly knocked nearly 8% off the price. The metal has since erased that decline and gone on to set fresh records.

Not Quite Digital Gold Yet

CNN reported that tightening supply, tariff uncertainty, and demand linked to artificial intelligence (AI) are pushing copper toward record levels.

Burry made a similar point last week, noting that new copper deposits take about 18 years to reach production, while AI data centers generate fresh demand within two to three years. That mismatch was central to his pick of a copper miner over AI stocks.

None of this makes copper a monetary metal like gold, which central banks continue to hold as a reserve asset. Gold's global stock is worth nearly $30 trillion, dwarfing copper's far smaller market.

Still, the 2026 divergence suggests AI-driven industrial demand is reshaping which commodities investors view as scarce.

Washington holds the next catalyst. A long-delayed Commerce Department ruling on tariffs for refined copper imports is still pending. Traders expect the decision to move prices sharply once it lands.

For now, copper is winning on growth even if gold still wins on size.