This page does not display a current copper quote. It teaches you how to evaluate a dated price from a source you choose. Record the source, contract or product, currency, unit and timestamp before using any number. Start with the static price-source directory.
How to read a copper price
A bare number is incomplete. A usable copper quotation should answer six questions:
- What is priced? Refined copper, a futures contract, cathode delivered to a location, fabricated product or a scrap grade?
- Which unit? Avoirdupois pound, kilogram or metric tonne?
- Which currency? US dollars, euros, pounds sterling or another currency?
- Which price type? Bid, ask, midpoint, cash, settlement, official value or last trade?
- Which time? Is the value current, delayed, end-of-day or an historical close?
- Which delivery basis? What grade, location, date and contract terms apply?
Two reputable sources may show different values at the same moment because they are describing different contracts, timestamps or sides of the market.
Cash, spot, futures and scrap prices
Cash or nearby physical reference
A cash-oriented quotation is associated with prompt delivery under defined market rules. It is not automatically a retail offer available to every buyer or seller.
Futures price
A futures quotation belongs to a specified contract month and standardized contract. Carrying costs, inventory conditions and near-term supply can make it different from a cash value.
Fabricated copper price
Wire, tube, sheet and other finished products include conversion, specification, packaging, logistics, inventory and seller margin. Their invoice price is not simply their metal weight multiplied by an exchange quote.
Scrap copper price
A scrap buyer prices a grade that can be sorted, processed and sold onward. Cleanliness, attachments, insulation, recoverable yield, lot size and local competition matter. Published yard prices may also be conditional on quantity or customer type.
Copper price conversion formulas
Let P be a copper price per avoirdupois pound. These conversions change only the unit, not the currency or market basis.
| Wanted unit | Formula | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Per ordinary ounce | P ÷ 16 | 16 avoirdupois ounces = 1 lb |
| Per gram | P ÷ 453.59237 | 453.59237 g = 1 lb |
| Per kilogram | P × 2.2046226218 | 2.2046226218 lb = 1 kg |
| Per metric tonne | P × 2,204.6226218 | 2,204.6226218 lb = 1 metric tonne |
To reverse the conversion, divide a price per kilogram by 2.2046226218 or divide a price per metric tonne by 2,204.6226218 to obtain the equivalent price per pound.
Do not substitute a troy ounce. A copper price per ordinary ounce uses 28.349523125 grams. A precious-metal troy ounce uses 31.1034768 grams. The word "ounce" must be qualified.
A hypothetical conversion
Suppose a dated source reports copper at $4.00 per pound. This is an arithmetic example, not a current price:
- per ordinary ounce: $4.00 ÷ 16 = $0.25;
- per kilogram: $4.00 × 2.2046226218 = about $8.82;
- per metric tonne: $4.00 × 2,204.6226218 = about $8,818.49.
All three values are equivalent only if the currency, timestamp, contract, grade and delivery basis remain unchanged.
Why scrap copper usually differs from a headline price
A benchmark is a starting reference, not a guaranteed payout. A scrap transaction may account for:
- non-copper material such as insulation, steel fittings, solder or coatings;
- moisture, dirt, mixed grades and sampling uncertainty;
- sorting, baling, granulation, smelting or refining costs;
- freight, minimum lot size and regional demand;
- price risk while material is processed and resold;
- the buyer's operating costs and margin.
Compare the net amount paid, not only the advertised rate. Confirm whether the scale weight is gross or net, which grade was assigned, whether any weight was deducted, and whether the stated rate applies to the whole lot.
How to calculate a copper price change
Percentage change = ((new price - old price) ÷ old price) × 100Use prices with the same currency, unit, quote type and comparable timestamp. A change from a cash quotation to a futures quotation is not a clean time-series comparison.
Copper price questions
Is copper priced by the pound?
It often is in US market coverage and scrap trade, while international industrial quotations commonly use a metric tonne. Always read the unit attached to the source.
Is a tonne the same as a US ton?
No. A metric tonne is 1,000 kilograms or about 2,204.6226 pounds. A US short ton is 2,000 pounds. A UK long ton is 2,240 pounds.
Can I multiply insulated wire weight by the copper price?
Not without accounting for insulation and other non-copper weight. Cable recovery varies by construction. A measured or documented recovery factor is better than guessing from appearance.
Does bare bright always pay the same percentage of a benchmark?
No. Grade specifications, location, volume, buyer demand and market conditions differ. Get actual quotes and confirm the buyer's acceptance rules.