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Industrial Metals Series coverage: 1900–2025

Copper Historical Price Archive

Annual Copper Price Archive

Cite Data

Copper is humanity's foundational conductor metal, indispensable for electrical grids, renewable power, electric vehicles, and AI computing data centers.

Annual Copper benchmark price: World Bank annual nominal observations from the Pink Sheet workbook. Unit conversions and CPI adjustments are calculated by CommoditiesHistory.com. No incomplete 2026 annual value is included. Before 1960, the series uses USGS nominal unit values. The measure changes to the World Bank benchmark in 1960. Published dollars per metric ton are converted to dollars per pound.

Copper Interactive Price History (1900–2025)

Inflation-Adjusted (Real 2026 USD)

Drag to pan, scroll to zoom, and hover for annual values.

Loading chart. Annual values are also available in the table below.
Data sources: World Bank, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Annual Observations

Copper Historical Eras & Macro Cycles

Detailed analysis of secular supercycles, wartime allocations, and price shocks

Copper historical observations

1900–2025

World Bank annual nominal observations from the Pink Sheet workbook. Unit conversions and CPI adjustments are calculated by CommoditiesHistory.com. No incomplete 2026 annual value is included. Before 1960, the series uses USGS nominal unit values. The measure changes to the World Bank benchmark in 1960. Published dollars per metric ton are converted to dollars per pound.

Price Behavior Annual observations range from $0.06 to $4.51 ($/lb).
Key Catalysts
  • Supply and production
  • Industrial and consumer demand
  • International trade

Copper Complete Historical Price Table (1900–2025)

Nominal vs. Real Inflation-Adjusted Prices in 2026 USD

Year Nominal Price ($/lb) Real Price (2026 USD) CPI / Historical Estimate Historical Context / Market Event
2025 $4.51 $4.69 321.9 Smelter Bottlenecks & Global Mine Deficits
2024 $4.15 $4.43 313.7 AI Data Center Power Grid Demand
2023 $3.85 $4.23 304.7 —
2022 $4.00 $4.58 292.7 Russia-Ukraine War & Inflation Surge
2021 $4.23 $5.22 271.0 Supply Chain Bottlenecks & EV Surge
2020 $2.80 $3.62 258.8 COVID-19 Lockdowns & Rapid Green Rebound
2019 $2.73 $3.57 255.7 —
2018 $2.96 $3.95 251.1 —
2017 $2.80 $3.82 245.1 —
2016 $2.21 $3.08 240.0 —
2015 $2.50 $3.53 237.0 Chinese Industrial Deleveraging
2014 $3.11 $4.40 236.7 —
2013 $3.33 $4.78 233.0 —
2012 $3.61 $5.27 229.6 —
2011 $4.00 $5.96 224.9 Commodity Supercycle Peak ($4.00/lb)
2010 $3.42 $5.25 218.1 —
2009 $2.34 $3.65 214.5 China Fiscal Stimulus Recovery
2008 $3.16 $4.91 215.3 Global Financial Crisis Crash
2007 $3.23 $5.22 207.3 —
2006 $3.05 $5.07 201.6 Historic Supply Squeeze Above $3/lb
2005 $1.67 $2.86 195.3 —
2004 $1.30 $2.31 188.9 —
2003 $0.807 $1.47 184.0 China Urbanization Supercycle Begins
2002 $0.707 $1.32 179.9 —
2001 $0.716 $1.35 177.1 Dot-Com Bust & Global Slowdown
2000 $0.822 $1.60 172.2 —
1999 $0.714 $1.43 166.6 —
1998 $0.750 $1.54 163.0 —
1997 $1.03 $2.16 160.5 Asian Financial Crisis
1996 $1.04 $2.22 156.9 Sumitomo Scandal Collapse
1995 $1.33 $2.93 152.4 Sumitomo Copper Manipulation Spike
1994 $1.05 $2.37 148.2 —
1993 $0.868 $2.01 144.5 —
1992 $1.03 $2.47 140.3 —
1991 $1.06 $2.61 136.2 —
1990 $1.21 $3.09 130.7 —
1989 $1.29 $3.49 124.0 —
1988 $1.18 $3.34 118.3 Supply Deficits Return
1987 $0.809 $2.38 113.6 —
1986 $0.623 $1.90 109.6 —
1985 $0.643 $2.00 107.6 —
1984 $0.625 $2.01 103.9 —
1983 $0.722 $2.43 99.6 —
1982 $0.671 $2.33 96.5 Volcker Fed Recession
1981 $0.790 $2.91 90.9 —
1980 $0.990 $4.02 82.4 Hunt Brothers & 1980 Inflation Peak
1979 $0.900 $4.15 72.6 —
1978 $0.619 $3.18 65.2 —
1977 $0.594 $3.28 60.6 —
1976 $0.635 $3.74 56.9 —
1975 $0.560 $3.49 53.8 —
1974 $0.934 $6.35 49.3 Great Stagflation Spike
1973 $0.810 $6.11 44.4 OPEC First Oil Shock
1972 $0.480 $3.85 41.8 —
1971 $0.490 $4.06 40.5 Nixon Ends Bretton Woods
1970 $0.642 $5.55 38.8 —
1969 $0.665 $6.07 36.7 —
1968 $0.563 $5.42 34.8 US Copper Strike (9-Month Stoppage)
1967 $0.515 $5.16 33.4 —
1966 $0.695 $7.18 32.4 —
1965 $0.586 $6.24 31.5 —
1964 $0.440 $4.75 31.0 —
1963 $0.293 $3.21 30.6 —
1962 $0.293 $3.25 30.2 —
1961 $0.287 $3.22 29.9 —
1960 $0.308 $3.49 29.6 —
1959 $0.310 $3.57 29.1 —
1958 $0.263 $3.05 28.9 —
1957 $0.302 $3.60 28.1 —
1956 $0.420 $5.17 27.2 —
1955 $0.375 $4.69 26.8 Post-War Industrial Expansion
1954 $0.299 $3.73 26.9 —
1953 $0.290 $3.64 26.7 —
1952 $0.245 $3.10 26.5 —
1951 $0.245 $3.16 26.0 —
1950 $0.216 $3.00 24.1 Korean War Rearmament
1949 $0.195 $2.75 23.8 —
1948 $0.223 $3.10 24.1 —
1947 $0.213 $3.20 22.3 —
1946 $0.141 $2.42 19.5 Post-War Price Controls Lifted
1945 $0.120 $2.24 18.0 —
1944 $0.120 $2.29 17.6 —
1943 $0.120 $2.33 17.3 —
1942 $0.120 $2.47 16.3 US War Production Price Cap (12c)
1941 $0.120 $2.74 14.7 —
1940 $0.115 $2.76 14.0 —
1939 $0.112 $2.70 13.9 WWII Begins in Europe
1938 $0.102 $2.42 14.1 —
1937 $0.134 $3.11 14.4 —
1936 $0.097 $2.34 13.9 —
1935 $0.089 $2.17 13.7 —
1934 $0.087 $2.17 13.4 —
1933 $0.073 $1.87 13.0 —
1932 $0.058 $1.42 13.7 Great Depression All-Time Low ($0.056/lb)
1931 $0.084 $1.85 15.2 —
1930 $0.132 $2.66 16.7 —
1929 $0.184 $3.60 17.1 Wall Street Crash
1928 $0.148 $2.91 17.1 —
1927 $0.131 $2.51 17.4 —
1926 $0.141 $2.66 17.7 —
1925 $0.143 $2.74 17.5 —
1924 $0.133 $2.60 17.1 —
1923 $0.147 $2.89 17.1 —
1922 $0.136 $2.70 16.8 —
1921 $0.127 $2.37 17.9 Post-WWI Deflation
1920 $0.175 $2.93 20.0 —
1919 $0.182 $3.52 17.3 —
1918 $0.247 $5.47 15.1 —
1917 $0.292 $7.64 12.8 —
1916 $0.284 $8.74 10.9 WWI Wartime Munitions Spike
1915 $0.175 $5.79 10.1 —
1914 $0.133 $4.45 10.0 WWI Outbreak
1913 $0.155 $5.25 9.9 —
1912 $0.165 $5.72 9.6 —
1911 $0.126 $4.50 9.3 —
1910 $0.129 $4.62 9.3 —
1909 $0.131 $4.87 9.0 —
1908 $0.132 $4.90 9.0 —
1907 $0.200 $7.16 9.4 Panic of 1907
1906 $0.193 $7.17 9.0 —
1905 $0.156 $5.81 9.0 —
1904 $0.128 $4.76 9.0 —
1903 $0.132 $4.90 9.0 —
1902 $0.116 $4.47 8.7 —
1901 $0.161 $6.46 8.4 —
1900 $0.162 $6.50 8.3 Electrification Boom Begins

Frequently Asked Questions: Copper History

Targeted answers to high-frequency historical and economic queries

What does this copper chart measure?
Annual Copper benchmark price. World Bank annual nominal observations from the Pink Sheet workbook. Unit conversions and CPI adjustments are calculated by CommoditiesHistory.com. No incomplete 2026 annual value is included. Before 1960, the series uses USGS nominal unit values. The measure changes to the World Bank benchmark in 1960. Published dollars per metric ton are converted to dollars per pound.
What is the highest annual copper value in this dataset?
$4.51 ($/lb) in 2025 annual value. This is the highest annual observation within 1900–2025, rather than a daily market record.
How are inflation-adjusted prices calculated?
Each nominal observation is multiplied by the site’s reference CPI divided by the CPI for that observation’s year. The same inflation calculation is used across commodity charts.

Cite This Dataset

World Bank: Commodity Price Data (Pink Sheet): Copper — Data providers: Bloomberg Finance L.P.; Engineering and Mining Journal; Platts Metals Week; Thomson Reuters Datastream; World Bank. — Underlying source data: CC BY 4.0. Source terms and acknowledgment requirements. Unit conversions and inflation adjustments by CommoditiesHistory.com.

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS): Copper Historical Statistics, Data Series 140

APA (7th Edition)

Commodities History Project. (2026). Copper Historical Prices and Inflation-Adjusted Series (1900–2025) [Data set]. CommoditiesHistory.com. https://commoditieshistory.com/copper

BibTeX 
@dataset{commoditieshistory_copper_2026,
  author = {{Commodities History Project}},
  title = {Copper Historical Prices and Inflation-Adjusted Series (1900–2025)},
  year = {2026},
  publisher = {CommoditiesHistory.com},
  url = {https://commoditieshistory.com/copper}
}