After gold rally, silver gains as copper reaches 16-year high

Menrials – (Web Desk) – Copper prices surged to their biggest rise in over 16 years, extending a powerful start to 2026 as heavy speculative trading in China sent metals markets sharply higher.

Strong buying interest in precious metals helped push copper to new record levels, driven by worries over tight supply, rising strategic demand, and increasing fragmentation across global markets.

During early Asian trading, prices on the London Metal Exchange jumped more than 5% in under an hour — a time window typically dominated by Chinese investors.

🥇 Gold soars past 5.5k, silver 🥈 rockets up 200% in just a month, while oil 🛢️ barely budges. Meanwhile, the Fed hits pause on rates, labeling inflation as “somewhat elevated.” 📈

We’re watching a textbook regime shift: capital is crowding into *monetary* assets (gold/silver)… pic.twitter.com/5kdQPhssRJ

— ZeGoodBanker (@ZegoodBanker) January 29, 2026

The rally quickly spilled over into gold and silver as momentum-based buying picked up pace. This surge builds on a standout 2025, when copper prices climbed nearly 44%, marking their strongest annual performance in more than a decade.

Analysts say the current upswing reflects a deeper structural shift, fueled by supply disruptions, persistent market deficits, and long-term demand growth that continues to outstrip new production.

Reduced mine output, years of underinvestment, declining ore quality, and lengthy development timelines have further limited the industry’s ability to respond quickly.

On the other hand, the inventories have become more fragmented because of trade tensions and policy uncertainties, and the supplies outside the US are tighter than the headline numbers.

Demand is also shifting towards more strategic and less price-sensitive applications.

The rapid growth of AI data centers, grid modernization, defense, and electrification projects is driving copper demand in a more resilient way, even as more traditional cyclical sectors like construction face challenges.

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These fundamentals have been driven by speculative demand, especially in the Chinese market, where investors have shown keen interest in hard assets due to concerns about currency stability, geopolitical tensions, and de-dollarization.

The fall in the value of the U.S. dollar has also helped to drive up prices by making copper cheaper for buyers who use other currencies.