Copper prices to quadruple on surging green demand, legendary oil trader Pierre Andurand says

By Louis Goss

We are moving towards a doubling of demand growth for copper due to the electrification of the world, including electric vehicles, solar panels, wind farms, but also military usage and data centers Pierre Andurand, chief investment officer at Andurand Capital

This is what world-renowned hedge fund manager Pierre Andurand reportedly said about copper markets as he predicted the price of the critical metal is set to quadruple to heights of $40,000 a ton over the next four years.

The French fund manager, who is famous for his big bets on commodity markets, told the Financial Times that he believes surging demand for copper -- which is set to play a core part in the global energy transition -- will outstrip supply in the next half of the 2020s, causing its price to surge from current rates of $10,290 per ton.

"I think we could end up to $40,000 per ton over the next four years or so. I'm not saying it will stay there then; eventually we will get a supply response, but that supply response will take more than five years," Andurand told the Financial Times

Andurand, a former Goldman Sachs oil trader, co-founded hedge fund BlueGold Capital in 2008 with Dennis Crema, an ex-colleague from commodity trading house Vitol, before launching his own hedge fund Andurand Capital in 2013.

The 47-year-old gained legendary status for generating bumper triple-digit returns in 2008 by successfully betting on oil prices at BlueGold Capital before closing the commodities-focused hedge fund in 2012.

The investor, who is known for his divergent interests in everything from kickboxing to kung fu movies, later started energy-focused hedge fund Andurand Capital the following year, which manages around $2 billion in assets.

Andurand Capital generated major gains during COVID-19 and in the early stages of the Ukraine war, before posting significant losses in 2023 by betting that oil prices (CL.1) would go up while they remained relatively stable, Bloomberg reported.

"I think oil traders have learned to be quite cautious about getting excited about potential supply disruptions," Andurand said. "I think we all lost a lot of money, expecting supply disruption that did not happen. You remember that pain."

The hedge fund manager added that he believes oil prices will continue to be "relatively stable," even as he believes the prices of other commodities including cocoa and aluminum are likely to increase.

"The geopolitical risks such as Russia and Gaza have not had an impact on supply, so I think that is why the oil price has been relatively stable, and I expect it to remain that way. I do not expect a large move in oil prices," Andurand said.

-Louis Goss

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05-24-24 0858ET

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