Copper rises over $9,000 as supply tightens in pandemic recovery

Copper rose above $9,000 a metric ton for the first time in nine years, taking another step closer to an all-time high set in 2011 as investors bet that supply tightness will increase as the world recovers from the pandemic.

Copper is surging amid a broad rally in commodities from iron ore to nickel, while oil has gained more than 20% this year. The bellwether industrial metal has doubled since a nadir in March, boosted by rapidly tightening physical markets, prospects for rebounding economic growth and the expectation that a years-long era of low inflation in key economies may be ending.

Investors are also piling into copper on a bet that demand will surge in the coming years as governments unleash unprecedented stimulus programs targeting renewable energy and electric-vehicle infrastructure, which will require huge volumes of the raw material.