Copper, the traditional bellwether for global industrial activity, is trading like a tech stock. Investors now price in the metal's growing role in powering artificial intelligence infrastructure. Prices climbed to a record close last week before retreating alongside Nvidia Corp. and ASML Holding NV. shares, then recovered as the sector stabilized.

The connection is straightforward: copper is essential for data centers and power grids, and AI workloads demand enormous electricity. Revere Copper Products in Rome, New York, handles the physical side of this trade, with rolls of sheet copper ready for delivery. Speculation around power consumption for AI data centers now drives copper's price action more than traditional construction demand.

What makes this shift notable is how copper's trading pattern has decoupled from broader economic indicators. The metal rallied again Friday as investors returned to AI-related equities, confirming that demand bets for AI power infrastructure have become a primary price driver. For commodity traders, copper has moved from tracking factories to tracking server farms.