MEASURED · 16 OCTOBER 2026

Copper price per pound: every year since 1960, and every crash

Copper averaged $6.57 a pound in September 2026, the highest monthly average since at least 1960 and +45% in a year. In today’s money it is not a record: in April 1974 copper cost $1.38 a pound, $9.60 in August 2026 dollars. Below: the price per pound, kilogram and ounce, every year since 1960 in dollars of the day and of today, every crash of 40% or more, how the US price compares with London’s, and what it means for scrap and pennies.

The short answer

World Bank monthly average of the London Metal Exchange price for grade A copper cathode, converted at 2,204.62 pounds to the metric ton. A monthly average smooths out single days, so daily quotes in September 2026 went above and below it. For a live US quote, look up the COMEX price.

Copper price history chart

Solid line: the monthly average in dollars of the day (World Bank, LME grade A). Dashed: the same in August 2026 dollars (BLS consumer price index). Log scale, so equal heights are equal percentage moves.

Is copper at a record?

In dollars of the day, September 2026 is the record: $6.57 a pound, just above August 2026’s $6.50. Before 2026 the highest month was December 2025, at $5.35. After inflation the picture changes. Copper cost $0.87 a pound in April 1966 and $1.38 in April 1974: $8.97 and $9.60 in today’s money. In all, 34 months since 1960 were dearer in real terms than September 2026, the first in October 1964 and the last in February 2011, when copper was $4.48 a pound, $6.78 today.

Every copper crash of 40% or more

A fall counts from a peak to the lowest monthly average before a 40% rally off that low. “Back to the peak” is the first month the average was at or above the old peak, in dollars of the day.

Copper has lost 40% or more eight times since 1960, and every one of those peaks was eventually passed again in dollars of the day. The deepest and fastest fall was April 2008 to December 2008: −64.6% in 8 months, from $3.94 to $1.39 a pound, and the price was back by December 2010. Others took far longer: the December 1988 peak of $1.59 was not seen again until June 2005, 16.5 years later, and the April 1974 peak took 14.6 years. The February 2011 peak of $4.48 took until May 2021.

Copper price by year, 1960 to 2026

Average of the year’s monthly averages, per pound; “today’s $” in August 2026 dollars. Change is against the previous year’s average. Per metric ton, multiply by 2,204.62.

The US price and the London price

This page uses the London Metal Exchange price because the World Bank publishes it monthly back to 1960. US buyers and sellers usually quote COMEX, the New York exchange. The two usually track each other closely, but not always. The US Geological Survey’s 2026 copper summary gives yearly averages per pound:

From 2021 to 2023 COMEX was within half a percent of London. In 2025 USGS estimated COMEX at $4.80 against $4.40, a gap of +9.1%, and wrote that analysts attributed the rise “primarily to uncertainty regarding the implementation of tariffs on U.S. imports of copper materials”. Both 2025 figures were USGS estimates made before the year ended. The World Bank’s full-year London average came out at $4.51, above the $4.40 estimate, so the final 2025 gap may be smaller. So for a US price on a given day, check COMEX; for the long history, the London series is the one that goes back far enough.

What the price means for scrap copper and pennies

The price on this page is for refined copper: grade A cathode, at least 99.9935% pure. Scrap sells for less than the exchange price, and yards price each grade of scrap differently; we did not measure scrap prices. Your weight in pounds times the exchange price is a reference point for judging a quote, not a quote.

A copper penny, dated 1909 to 1982 except the 1943 steel cent, is 95% copper, 2.9545 g of it, worth 4.28 cents at the September 2026 price; about 146 of them weigh a pound. Melting them is not an option: federal rule 31 CFR 82.1 bans melting one-cent and five-cent coins, with narrow exceptions such as jewelry or novelty use. Every penny and nickel, priced by year, is in how much is a penny worth? and how much is a nickel worth?

Where US copper goes

According to the Copper Development Association, as reported by USGS, copper and copper alloy products in the US went 42% into building construction, 23% into electrical and electronic products, 18% into transportation equipment, 10% into consumer and general products and 7% into industrial machinery. US mines produced an estimated 1.0 million metric tons of copper in 2025, about 70% of it in Arizona, and copper was added to the US list of critical minerals published on 7 November 2025.

The same kind of history for other markets is in gold price history, silver price history, aluminum price per pound, brass price per pound (what the copper and zinc in brass are worth), platinum vs gold price and oil price history. This page is history, not a forecast or personal advice.

How we measured it

Prices: the World Bank Pink Sheet (2 October 2026 release), monthly averages of the London Metal Exchange settlement price for grade A copper, January 1960 to September 2026, in dollars per metric ton, converted at 2,204.62 pounds per ton (1 lb = 453.59237 g). Today’s money: BLS CPI-U to August 2026; September 2026 is deflated with August 2026’s index. Crashes: a fall runs from a peak to the lowest monthly average before a 40% rally, and ends at the first month back at the old peak. US prices: COMEX and LME annual averages from the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, which also gives the end-use and production figures.

Common questions