Copper jumps to its highest level ever. What the metal is telling us

An open-pit copper mine at Asarco's Mission Mine Complex in Sahuarita, Arizona, US, on Friday, March 6, 2026. Rebecca Noble | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesCopper surged to a record high Thursday, but the latest rally comes against a more mixed growth backdrop, making the once-reliable gauge of economic health, "Dr. Copper," harder to read.U.S. copper futures climbed to around $6.90 a pound Thursday, extending a rally in a metal used for construction, electronics, transportation and even AI applications. It then retreated to end the session after touching the new high.But instead of simply indicating stronger global growth, today's record price could be reflecting a combination of constrained supply, heavy grid investment, uncertainty around U.S. tariffs and rising demand for electrification.In the past, the metal was seen as a gauge on whether global economic activity was ramping up."The underpinning story of elevated copper prices has been data center and power grid demand to support the rapid AI industry expansion," William Osnato, Barchart director of commodity data research and analysis, told CNBC in an email, adding that surge in copper demand is "more acute and not the traditional...