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Phil Flynn

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Dr. Copper’s Midterm Checkup: Socialism, Data Centers, and Why the Doctor’s Still Bullish. Manic Metals Report 11/06/2026

By On November 6, 2026 - 9:22 AM · In Manic Metals Report, Market Commentaries
Copper prices got hit particularly hard after the sweep of the mid-term elections raised fears that the economy and the future of America just took a big step backward. LME copper slumped toward its lowest levels since July (around the $13,600–$13,700/ton area), falling about 1.2% on Thursday and more on Friday, putting it on track for its worst week since March. Markets are fretting that Democratic control of Congress will mean tighter scrutiny of AI, slower data-center buildouts, and lower odds of copper import tariffs that had previously tightened the global market.
While the overall stock market can take some solace in federal gridlock, it was the local elections that can try to stand in the way of progress and use their regulatory action to slow the construction of data centers.
About 40% of planned U.S. data-center capacity sits in states where newly elected governors (including in Texas, Ohio, and Georgia) campaigned on pauses or moratoriums, and voters in dozens of towns rejected projects outright.
Now it is not clear why many Democrats are against data centers—power bills, water use, and “big tech” vibes all get blamed—but I suspect it’s also because they know they make big money and they want their hands in the pie, along with the pushing of socialism.
Which, as Winston Churchill once said, is the “philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy.” So true. Just look at some of that gospel of envy in the slandering and the demonization of Elon Musk.
Then compare Churchill’s line to what Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said after the election: that the results show people want to tax the rich (and corporations) so they pay their “fair share,” with roughly 80% of Chicago voters backing a millionaires’ tax surcharge and corporate tax increases. Johnson has framed it as putting working people ahead of “corporate greed” and has long pushed higher taxes on the biggest players.
Yet Chicago already has some of the highest sales taxes and real estate taxes in the country. Add on Illinois state taxes plus Governor Pritzker’s growing list of new ones, and the tax revenue is never enough. Why? Because the spending appetite always grows faster than the take, and the gospel of envy never seems to run out of new targets.
So the drop in copper prices yesterday is a sign and should be a wakeup call to the Democrats. If they have their way, they will regulate artificial intelligence and give China the AI edge. You see, copper used to be Dr. Copper, a bellwether for the global economy. In the last few decades, copper prices were tied to the Chinese economy, and now it is directly related to the AI race and electricity generation—a sign of health for the buildout of data centers, power equipment, and electrification.
Note that the long-term fundamentals for copper demand are huge, mainly from data centers that should be built here, but if the Democrats have their way, it may be in other countries. Yesterday, copper fell on AI fears (with platinum and palladium also caught up in the broader metals and risk-off noise). The market is pricing in slower U.S. infrastructure progress; the metal itself hasn’t suddenly become less useful.
 Yet Copper took it on the chin yesterday. Futures slid to about $6.18 a pound, a 17-week low, as the market worried that a Democratic-controlled Congress will put the brakes on data center construction.
 Platinum and palladium got dragged into the broader risk-off metals selling. They are giving back part of a sharp bounce off Wednesday’s lows, with platinum near $1,510 and palladium near $1,020 this morning, as traders squared up ahead of the jobs number.
But don’t confuse a political repricing with a change in the fundamentals.
 The long-term demand for copper is still huge, driven by the data centers, the power grid and the electrification the AI build-out requires.
The real question is not whether those data centers get built, but where. If the Democrats have their way, a lot of that construction, and the copper demand that comes with it, could end up in other countries instead of here. What the market is pricing in is slower U.S. infrastructure progress. The metal itself hasn’t suddenly become less useful, and if this selloff is about geography rather than demand, it could be a buying opportunity for the patient.
Yet gold shined as we saw fear buying as a hedge against Democratic policies and a sharp sell-off in the stock market. The yellow metal is holding above $4,000 and is set for a roughly 4% weekly gain—its biggest since August—after the Democratic midterm sweep weakened the dollar and Treasury yields. Gold is giving back a little this morning and remains on track for its best week in over two months ahead of the US payrolls report, after hitting a more than two-week high earlier this week as the dollar and yields eased.
Silver has been tagging along for the ride, up more than 4% on the week and hovering around $52 an ounce. It’s getting the same post-midterms lift from a softer dollar, lower yields, and safe-haven interest, even as it eases a bit Friday ahead of the jobs data.
And the best place to get the jobs data and market moving news is a Fox Business Network. Also make sure that you sign up for the Phil Flynn daily Energy Report in the wildly popular trade levels by calling me at 888-264-5665.

 

Thanks,

Phil Flynn

Senior Market Analyst & Author of The Energy Report and Manic Metals Report

Contributor to FOX Business Network

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