Vivek Dhar

And the reason for that was we saw on the demand side, any kind of equity rally, which is AI-fueled, everyone is thinking, OK, copper demand is going to be strong.

But to put that into perspective, AI-related demand for copper is around 3%.

And it's only expected to grow about 3% CAGR until 2030.

So it's not actually, for me, like that narrative AI, therefore copper demand is great.

I think that is very much a narrative that takes hold.

But is it necessarily as true as the true believers?

I'm a bit reluctant to believe that aspect of it.

But if I had to say, is the peak where we saw it go about 14,000 justified?

I'd say yes on supply side reasons.

Because we are definitely in the realm of supply disruptions coming through.

Like 20% of global copper, it needs sulfuric acid as an input.

And that is...

very much in short supply.

So already there's fears, particularly in Africa, we may not have the supply come to market.

You add on top of that, you have Peru talking about potential diesel issues.

That's 10% to 12% of global supply.

That's another factor to consider.

And on top of that, this was a commodity that saw supply disruptions in 2025, and that has persisted into 2026.

So this, on the supply side, you can see the justification.

I'm less convinced on the demand side in the near term.