In recent days, due to weak demand and oversupply in the global copper market, copper prices have experienced a big drop. However, Reid I'Anson, a senior commodity analyst at market intelligence company Kpler, believes that although short-term selling is inevitable, those who continue to invest in copper may see returns in the long run.

He said in an interview on Thursday that although copper prices soared in the first few months of 2024, he believes that the short-term outlook for copper is still weak. In addition to demand issues, he believes that another factor affecting current copper prices is supply. "Supply currently looks quite strong. If you consider the balance of supply and demand, you will find that we are oversupplied," he added.

"Supply currently looks quite strong. If you consider the balance of supply and demand, you will find that we are oversupplied," he added.

Goldman Sachs analyst Adam Gillard also issued a warning that the situation is continuing to deteriorate, this is an oversupply market, short-term copper prices will fall. Copper prices have fallen by about 20% from the historical high in mid-May, falling below $9,000 per tonne on Thursday for the first time since early April.

"Currently, these stories surrounding electric vehicles and artificial intelligence are long-term stories... Looking long-term, we are still bullish, and we think copper looks like a good investment."

"Fortunately, there is still a lot of renewable energy construction in China, which helps to support copper demand. However, if you are trading in the short term, you need to be careful," he added.

Christopher Ecclestone, a mining strategist at Hallgarten, believes that the electric vehicle industry is accustomed to selling stories about "getting rich in the future". The claim that copper is in short supply is just a myth. Shortages of copper may occur in the distant future, but not now.

"For investors, whether to buy copper depends on their view of the global economic recovery prospects... If you believe that the future economic situation will improve, the current price may be a good entry point," he said.

However, most analysts still believe that copper shortages will be an objective fact. It is only recently that the uncertainty of the global economic recovery has increased that the "copper shortage theory" has begun to waver.

Analysts predict that to achieve the goal of near-zero emissions by 2035, copper demand needs to double from current levels to 50 million tons. Even with conservative estimates, demand in the next decade will need to increase by at least one-third, putting pressure on the copper market in both the short and long term.

Editor/ping