"Everything's only going to get more expensive": Yahoo Finance readers on the global rise in copper prices

January 23 2026 1 665 1

Popular readers news Yahoo Finance commented on the rise in global copper prices and its potential consequences. The infrastructure boom surrounding artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, and renewable energy has driven copper prices to record levels. S&P Global analysts predict a multi-year period of panic demand. The shortage will last for perhaps decades.

Copper ended 2025 with a 44% gain, reaching a new all-time high this week. However, the artificial intelligence boom could be the key to another 15 years of sharp demand growth at a time when mining capacity is expected to remain very limited.

Without new mine development or technological advances, copper production is expected to peak in 2030, leaving a global deficit of approximately 10 million metric tons by 2040.

Last year, copper benefited from a massive boom in the metals market, which also pushed gold and silver prices to record highs. Some analysts believe that prices for all three metals are likely to decline in the foreseeable future due to changing market conditions, but copper's industrial importance will continue to support strong demand.

It is noted that since many countries are purchasing copper for the future, to avoid losing momentum amid the shortage, this will also push up prices. It is also noted that the current rise in copper prices was, for some reason, not predicted by industry experts, despite all the preconditions for it being apparent in advance.

Reader Comments:

This is what happens when we push electric cars and data centers without planning ahead. Copper is vital, and now we're facing a shortage. It's time to invest in mining stocks before prices skyrocket.

As an electrician, I've seen copper prices double in the last year. And yes, the shortage is real, folks. This will have a significant impact on the cost of wiring homes.

S&P Global's warning about systemic risk? Sounds like a way to create hype to drive up commodity prices. We've heard something similar before with oil.

AI centers are consuming more energy. Elon Musk better start mining Mars if he wants to keep building his servers. But yes, the rise in copper prices is about to bring down the whole thing. technological boom.

China is to blame for everything, frantically buying copper for its electric vehicles. We need to bring copper mining back to the US. An Alaskan mine could help, if environmentalists don't get involved.

Previously, it was reported that supplies from Chile and Peru were declining due to strikes and water shortages there. economy It's too dependent on just a couple of raw material sources. We need to source from other sources.

They're writing about a deficit already this year. It's time for some people to invest in mining company stocks. This isn't a bubble—it's a structural increase in demand.

What about recycling electronics and other electronics from waste? If we take a more circular economy seriously, we might be able to avoid the worst consequences of this shortage."

Is rising military spending driving up copper demand? Who would have thought? I've been keeping an eye on this, and there's already talk of $15,000 per ton by 2030. If S&P is right, the global recovery will hit a wall. It's about time. politicians wake up already.

For the average person, this means higher costs for everything—plumbing, appliances, whatever. The average person ends up losing out. The positive side of things: scarcity drives innovation. Perhaps we'll see more efficient technologies that use less copper. Need drives innovation!

Chilean mines, exhausted by years of production, are suddenly producing less? I'm not surprised. These kinds of nuances are everywhere. If we want copper, loosen regulations, otherwise prices will soar even higher than they are now. This reminds me of the commodities boom of the 2000s.