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Live copper price (HG/USD) with 24-hour high, low, and price history.
Record high reflects the highest price in our available data history.
How the copper price has moved over time, shown in US Dollar per pound.
| Period | Change (USD/lb) | % change |
|---|---|---|
| Today | -$ 0.07 | -1.15% ↓ |
| 1 Week | -$ 0.04 | -0.70% ↓ |
| 1 Month | +$ 0.10 | +1.56% ↑ |
| 6 Months | +$ 0.78 | +14.30% ↑ |
| 1 Year | +$ 1.35 | +27.75% ↑ |
| 5 Years | +$ 1.69 | +37.30% ↑ |
Percentages reflect the international copper price (HG/USD). Indicative data, not financial advice.
Copper is the world’s most important industrial base metal, so central to the global economy that it is nicknamed “Dr. Copper” for its ability to signal economic health.
It is quoted in US dollars and used everywhere from construction wiring to power grids and electric vehicles, making its price a real-time read on industrial demand.
Copper demand rises and falls with construction and manufacturing, making it a barometer of the economic cycle.
EVs, renewable power, and grid upgrades all use large amounts of copper, supporting long-term demand.
Strikes, grades, and new projects at major mines shift the supply side and the price.
Copper was the first metal humans ever worked, more than 10,000 years ago, and it gave its name to an entire age. Alloyed with tin it created bronze, ushering in the Bronze Age and transforming tools, weapons, and art. The island of Cyprus, a major ancient source, even lent copper its Latin name, “cuprum”.
From ancient coins and cookware to the wiring that electrified the modern world, copper has been a constant companion to human progress — so much so that its price is now treated as a barometer of the global economy.
Copper is far more abundant than the precious metals, but it is indispensable rather than rare. It is the second-best electrical conductor after silver, at a fraction of the cost, and an excellent conductor of heat. Its reddish colour is unmistakable, and it naturally develops a protective green patina over time.
Copper is also naturally antimicrobial — many bacteria die on its surface — and it is endlessly recyclable without losing quality. These traits are why “Dr. Copper” is said to have a PhD in economics: where there is building and manufacturing, there is copper.
Copper is the metal of electrification. It carries power through the wiring in homes, the cables of the electricity grid, and the motors and batteries of electric vehicles. A single EV uses several times more copper than a conventional car, and the global shift to renewable energy depends on it.
In everyday life copper appears in plumbing, roofing, cookware, coins, and electronics, while its antimicrobial surfaces are increasingly used on hospital touchpoints to limit the spread of germs.
Unlike the precious metals, copper is an industrial commodity traded on exchanges such as the London Metal Exchange and COMEX, priced in US dollars. Its demand tracks construction and manufacturing so closely that economists watch the copper price as a real-time signal of global growth.
Its broad industrial use means copper demand reflects overall economic activity, so traders treat its price as a diagnostic of global growth.
Copper is quoted in US dollars and is more sensitive to industrial demand than the precious metals.
Electric vehicles, renewable energy, and grid expansion are copper-intensive, adding a structural source of demand.