The global energy crisis is casting a pall over copper, as investors who are bullish on its long-term prospects fret that power shortages and factory slowdowns could trigger a retreat in the near term.
As a reliable gauge of economic health, copper is fast becoming a canary in the coal mine for analysts and academics, who fear that the surging costs of natural gas and electricity will send markets reeling. That could unleash a bout of stagflation, where demand from consumers and manufacturers craters but the costs of goods and raw materials remain stubbornly high.
Yet energy isn’t the only weight on copper, a metal that’s essential for builders, automakers and electronics manufacturers.
