Copper prices have surged 15.8% year-to-date and over 30% in the past 12 months, outperforming gold which has slipped 4.11% this year. Investors attribute the rally to increasing demand from artificial intelligence, power grid investments, and national security, coupled with tight supply and U.S. tariff-driven stockpiling. Ivanhoe Electric CEO Taylor Melvin believes copper demand from the tech sector is inelastic and expects the metal to withstand recent tech stock volatility. Aberdeen Investments' Iain Pyle highlights a supply-demand imbalance, suggesting sustained higher prices are needed to incentivize supply, with potential U.S. tariffs leading to concentrated stockpiles.