Hindustan Copper Shares Hit 15-Year High — Here's Why

The shares of Hindustan Copper Ltd. have hit 15-year high on Wednesday after Copper rose to a fresh high. This comes as Copper is set to post its best year since 2009 after a surge in December.

The copper index hit a life high at Rs 1,128.30 with a 42.48% surge in the last one year. On Wednesday, prices rose as much as 0.8% to $12,156.50 a ton, just $3 short of Monday’s all-time high, before trading at $12,109.50 by 10:37 a.m. Shanghai time. Prices on the London Metal Exchange are now on track for an annual gain of 38%, the biggest since 2009.

Earlier, in an exclusive conversation with NDTV Profit, Sanjiv Kumar Singh, chief managing director of Hindustan Copper said that as artificial intelligence and data centres continue to take over the world, these are emerging as the largest users of copper as well. According to Singh, artificial intelligence has surprisingly become the single largest consumer of copper, a fact that "very few people know."

While it is well known that electric vehicles, wires, rods, and machines are major sources of demand for copper, a single AI data center consumes close to 28 to 30 tonnes of copper. This new demand driver is playing a significant role in keeping copper prices stable, according to him.

The scrip rose as much as 5.93% to Rs 432 apiece on Wednesday, the highest level since Nov. 11, 2010. It pared gains to trade 4.83% higher at Rs 427.50 apiece, as of 10:11 a.m. This compares to a 0.16% advance in the NSE Nifty 50 Index.

It has risen 51.33% in the last 12 months and 71.28% year-to-date. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 1.23 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 76.84 indicating that it was overbought.