Investors ignoring the recent rally in the copper price might be missing out on an opportunity worth up to $320 billion (£252 billion), according to analysts at Citi.
That's the US bank's estimate of the potential value of the current resurgence in 'Doctor Copper', which though slightly overshadowed by gold at present, Citi says has a lot further to run.
Gold and copper are traditionally at opposite ends of the economic spectrum, with gold often a haven play when things get tough, while copper demand is a sign of growth.
Both going well at the same time is something of a curiosity but Citi credits this to copper enjoying its second secular bull market this century.
This second coming is 20 years after China's urbanisation and industrialisation-led secular bull market and follows cyclical weakness for the past 18 months.
“We think sub-$9,500k/t is ‘cheap’ on a 6-to-24-month view. We see prices trending higher to an average US$10,000/t by the fourth quarter of 2024 and US12,000/t in 2026 on our base case," said analysts.
For the next three months, US$9,700/t (from $9,200/t) is Citi’s revised target.