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The broad rally in the world of metals has continued during the first full week of 2026. During December, the upward price momentum in the white metals (silver and the PGMs) became extreme, but now we are seeing dramatic upward price acceleration elsewhere. In particular, the rises in the prices of copper and lithium have become parabolic.

During the first half of this week, the copper price in the US traded above US$6/pound for the first time ever, and the following chart shows that the price of copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME), which is less affected by tariff stupidity than the price in the US, is now above US$13,000/tonne. Prior to the past two months, it had never been above US$11,000/tonne.
 

For its part, lithium carbonate priced in Chinese Yuan per tonne (CNY/t) has gained about 120% since June-2025 and about 45% over just the past month. Refer to the following chart for the details. Furthermore, since the Yuan has strengthened relative to the US$ the performance in US$ terms has been even better.
 

We wrote numerous times over the past two years that the gold bull market would broaden to encompass almost all commodities, starting with the white metals and then moving to other industrial metals and lastly to oil. We noted soon after it happened that the tariff-related panic in April-2025 had marked a turning point for the white metals relative to gold, while industrial metals in general have been strengthening relative to gold since October-2025. Therefore, it is fair to say that the broad strength that we are seeing across the metals markets was anticipated.

At this point in the cycle, it’s very unlikely that industrial metals such as copper and lithium are close to major price tops. On the contrary, the rallies from last year’s lows probably are just the initial rallies — the first of two or three bull-market legs. However, like the price action in silver and the PGMs, the price action in the copper and lithium markets is setting the stage for multi-month corrections. It also will be increasing costs in many industries, which is a related issue because there will be demand destruction if prices continue to rise rapidly. For example, in response to the huge recent price rise in silver, solar cell manufacturers, the largest industrial consumers of silver, are finding ways to substitute base metals for silver in their products.

So, don’t forget to take some profits!

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