The economy is expected to contract this year, as familiar challenges from 2024 persist into the current financial cycle. Despite a negative economic output, there are silver linings that could support a recovery trajectory next year. Along with the silver linings, there are also dark clouds of uncertainty and, indeed, dread.
Copper shoots upOne major reason for hope going into 2026 is the greater gains recently seen in copper. This week, copper prices exploded to record highs again, not because the world is running out of the metal but in part because the United States (US) is scooping up so much of it that everyone else is scrambling for what is left. Benchmark three-month copper hit an all-time high of $11,952 a metric tonne on the London Metal Exchange on Friday. By press time on Wednesday, the base metal was trading around $11,655 per tonne, up roughly 33% for the year. The US has been aggressively stockpiling metal ahead of potential tariffs, pulling huge volumes out of the tradable global system and tightening supplies everywhere else. For a country with a rich Kalahari Copperbelt, the rise and rise of copper prices will benefit the fiscus through increased mineral tax and the possible opening of more copper mines that will bolster exports and increase earnings.
