Commodity Supercycle

A commodity supercycle is an extended multi-year or even multi-decade period of sustained above-trend demand and rising prices across a broad range of commodities—including metals, energy, and agricultural products—driven by structural shifts in the global economy rather than short-term supply-demand imbalances. Historically, commodity supercycles have been associated with major industrialisation waves—the industrialisation of the US in the early 20th century and China's infrastructure buildout in the 2000s are the two most cited examples. Many analysts suggest that the global energy transition, EV adoption, and the AI-driven data centre boom could drive a new supercycle in copper, lithium, and other critical minerals through the late 2020s and beyond.