The Evolution of Global Gold and Copper Trade Networks

Gold and copper have emerged as two of the most vital commodities in global trade. Despite serving distinct purposes, their international trade networks reveal interconnected patterns, critical to understanding the dynamics of global economics. This paper studies these attributes and their evolution during the last 36 years for both metals and finds correlations between them. The first part of the research is focused on the sustainability of networks through efficiency and robustness indexes; the second part is dedicated to interconnectedness – the Louvain and Bayesian SBM algorithms, partition, and modularity instruments are used. Community detection algorithms provide valuable insights into how global trade is divided into separate communities. In the result, a comparison of trade networks is considered: how their trade structure influences the peculiarities and correlations between them. While the gold trade network demonstrates a gradual but steady trend toward resilience and interconnectedness, the copper trade network reveals vulnerabilities due to topology weaknesses. These findings emphasize the need for balanced topology development alongside rising trade volumes, which is essential to enhance the stability and adaptability of trade in a rapidly changing global landscape.