In 2024, the price of copper remained strong with an average annual price of $4.15/lb, an increase of 8% from the prior year’s annual average of $3.85/lb.
Copper prices experienced greater volatility versus 2024, trading in a range of $3.69/lb to an all-time nominal high price of $5.04/lb during the year. Supply limitations and expectations for lower benchmark interest rates helped the copper price reach its all-time high in May 2024, while prices moderated over the remainder of the year on a strengthening trade-weighted US dollar and concerns about global growth.
China’s GDP grew 5.0% in 2024, meeting the target set by the government. China is by far the world’s largest consumer of copper and overall demand for the metal is significantly impacted by economic activity in the country. With the International Monetary Fund projecting China’s Real GDP to grow by an additional 4.5% in 2025, combined with the need for spending on electrification infrastructure, the near-term outlook for copper prices remains strong.
In the longer run, due to the critical role that copper will play in the energy transition, through the manufacture of electric vehicles, EV batteries, solar panels, wind turbines and power grids, the outlook for copper demand in the coming years remains very positive. Combined with limited supply growth due to the cost and time to bring new mines to operation, annual physical deficits in copper are anticipated to emerge and grow over the next decade, with strong copper prices required to incentivize additional production and motivate scrap recycling in order to bring the market into balance.
Since the turn of the century, the market prices of both gold and copper have each grown significantly. Copper prices have experienced greater volatility while gold prices have shown more consistent strength. Over this period, increases in gold prices have exceeded the S&P 500 Total Return Index with copper prices keeping a close pace, demonstrating the long-term benefits of holding hard assets in an investment portfolio.