Copper prices are back in the bullish camp at Citi for the first time in 2026. The bank’s call is not a vague commodity cheer. It is a number-led forecast that puts copper prices at $14,500 a ton next month and $15,000 within a year.
According to CNBC, Citi’s one-year target would mark more than a 10% rise from a benchmark three-month copper price of $13,636 a ton. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs also raised its year-end copper price target to $13,735 from $12,465. Therefore, copper prices now have two major banks leaning higher.
What is supporting copper prices
Citi pointed to tariff uncertainty on refined copper imports and hopes that Hormuz shipping normalizes by summer. U.S. stockpiles have swollen as traders positioned ahead of a possible tariff decision. Citi expects strategic ambiguity rather than a clear refined-copper tariff. As a result, excess U.S. inventory incentives can keep supporting copper prices near term.
Also, copper remains central to electrification, grids, EVs, and data-center build-outs. Last year brought the metal’s biggest annual gain since 2009 on supply disruptions, a weaker dollar, China growth hopes, and AI spending. However, Citi still flagged Middle East instability and rate-sensitive inventory as bearish tail risks.
Axo Markets read on copper prices
For Markets desks, copper prices are a growth-and-policy hybrid. The metal prices both physical scarcity fears and tariff gamesmanship. In fact, when inventories rise in the U.S. while LME prices stay firm, the market is trading policy optionality as much as end-use demand.
Overall, the Citi turn matters because it reframes copper prices from a crowded long into a still-supported industrial trade. Yet the same note warns that unclear tariffs after June could become a headwind if physical support fades.
What to watch next for copper prices
Finally, watch the U.S. tariff decision window, LME versus CME inventory spreads, and whether copper prices can hold above the mid-$13,000s if Hormuz risk stays elevated.