The copper price has surged 23 per cent since early February, and last week BHP launched a $60 billion takeover of copper producer (among other things) Anglo American.

The reason for both of these things is easy to find.

Copper has the highest electrical conductivity of any non-precious metal, and while silver is better, it is 85 times the price ($US27.24 per ounce v $US4.54 per pound).

So copper it is, and with the world electrifying to remove oil and gas, it means a lot more highly conductive electrical wires will be needed.

It is, in short, one of the most obvious reasons for investing in a commodity in history, although as we learnt from lithium, there’s no such thing as a guaranteed one-way bet. (The lithium price crashed 80 per cent in 2023 despite being the most obvious commodity bull case ever known, and a one-way bet).

The other reason copper is rising this year is that it is said to have a PhD in economics (it’s often called Dr Copper) because it tends to follow the manufacturing cycle, which has turned up.

But the main case for copper is its electrical conductivity in a world that must electrify – there is no choice but to use more of it.

And it’s not just the energy transition with electric vehicles and more wiring to replace oil and gas – artificial intelligence is going to increase the demand for electricity a lot more........

© The New Daily