Copper Price per Pound Today: Refined, Scrap and Ore

Copper futures traded near US$6.52 a pound on 15 October 2026 (Trading Economics, a contract tracking the benchmark market). On the London Metal Exchange (LME), cash copper settled at US$14,741 a tonne on 13 October, which is about US$6.69 a pound, according to Mining.com. That is the cost of a pound of finished copper metal. Scrap copper and copper ore sell for less, and the gap depends on purity and grade. This guide puts all three on one pound basis, with a chart for each, a table of scrap grades from two US yards and an ore-value calculator.

Terms used below. A pound (lb) is 0.4536 kg, and one tonne is 2,204.62 lb, so a price per tonne divides by 2,204.62 to give a price per pound. Grade is the share of copper in the rock, written as % Cu. Cathode is refined copper in sheets, the metal that exchanges quote. Concentrate is the powder a mill makes from crushed ore, with a standard grade of about 28% Cu. This page is written for investors and owners who need a reliable number and the reasoning behind it. It is not investment advice.

Copper price per pound today: benchmarks and dates

No single number is the copper price. Each benchmark measures a different contract, at a different time of day, so the table gives every reading with its date and source. Check a live quote before you trade or sign anything, because the metal moves by several cents in a day.

For context, Mining.com reports that copper has averaged US$13,471 a tonne so far in 2026, about US$6.11 a pound on our conversion, and that COMEX copper is up more than 18% this year. The 15 October reading of US$6.52 is about 5% below the 9 September record settlement of US$6.89 (a CFD tracker against a COMEX settlement; Trading Economics’ own all-time high of US$6.85 gives a similar gap). The September fall followed a report that the White House tariff plan had stalled, which took more than 5% off the price in one day, according to the same article.

Copper price over five years

The USGS publishes annual averages for the COMEX high-grade contract and for the LME grade A cash price. From 2021 to 2024 the two stayed within about US$0.07 of each other, around US$4 a pound. The USGS estimate for 2025 is US$4.80 for COMEX and US$4.40 for the LME, a wider gap. The USGS says analysts attributed the 2025 rise mainly to uncertainty over US tariffs on copper imports. The 2026 readings in the table above sit well over those annual averages.

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Annual average copper price, COMEX and LME

US cents per pound; 2025 is a USGS estimate

COMEX vs LME: why the two quotes differ

COMEX, the New York futures market run by CME Group, quotes copper in US dollars per pound. The LME quotes US dollars per tonne and is the usual reference for physical contracts outside North America. They price delivery in different places, so the two can drift apart. Mining.com says the threat of a US import tariff pulled metal into American warehouses and widened the gap between New York and London.

Mining.com reported on 14 October that the spread has all but disappeared on a spot basis: COMEX October copper at US$6.62 a pound traded below LME cash. Visible stocks are up about 300,000 tonnes worldwide this year, all of it in the US, while stocks elsewhere are down 168,000 tonnes, the article says. Macquarie rates no tariff announcement by 1 January as the most likely outcome, and BMO expects no decision before the US midterms in November, so the gap could reopen.

Refined, scrap and ore: copper per pound compared

People searching for the cost of copper per pound usually mean one of four things. The table shows how each one is priced and what share of the benchmark it tends to fetch.

Scrap copper prices by grade

Scrap yards post a price per pound for each grade and change it daily. Two yards that published their boards on 15 October show how wide the range is. The yard buys the metal delivered to its gate, then sorts it, ships it and sells it to a mill or refiner, so the posted price sits under the benchmark.

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Posted scrap prices against the benchmark, one day

US$ per lb on 15 October 2026; scrap at Rockaway Recycling, New Jersey; benchmark from Trading Economics

Sources: Rockaway Recycling and Langley Recycling, both updated 15 October 2026. Langley lists two columns, for loads under and over 100 lb. These are posted yard prices, not an index, and yards change them without notice.

The grade names Barley, Candy, Birch and Cliff come from the Recycled Materials Association (ReMA, formerly ISRI). In the 2017 notice of proposed specification changes, Barley is No. 1 bare bright wire, Candy is No. 1 heavy copper solids and tubing, and the No. 2 grades Birch (wire) and Cliff (solids and tubing) are unalloyed copper at a nominal 96% copper, minimum 94%. The current circular may differ, so ask the buyer which grade they will pay for.

At the New Jersey yard, bare bright wire paid about 87% of the US$6.52 benchmark, No. 1 tube about 83% and No. 2 about 81%. Insulated wire pays by the copper inside it, so a cable with 85% copper by weight is priced on that share. The gaps move with the scrap supply. The USGS says copper recovered from scrap supplied about 30% of US copper supply in 2025, and the ICSG says world refined output from scrap grew 4.3% in the first seven months of 2026.

Copper ore price per pound: what a tonne of rock is worth

Copper ore has no quoted price per pound, because it is rarely sold as raw rock. A mine crushes it, concentrates it and sells the concentrate, or leaches it and sells the cathode. What you can calculate is the value of the copper locked in a pound of ore, which depends on grade.

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Copper in one tonne of ore, gross value by deposit type

US$ per tonne of ore at US$6.52 a pound; before recovery, charges and costs; Copperbelt bar is the reduced-facies average

A tonne of ore at 0.44% Cu holds 4.4 kg of copper, or 9.7 lb. That is the average grade of porphyry copper mined in 2008, a deposit type that the USGS says supplies about 60% of the world’s copper. At US$6.52 a pound, 9.7 lb is worth about US$63, or 2.9 US cents per lb of rock. Sediment-hosted deposits, which supply about 20% of world copper, average 2.1% Cu, so a tonne holds 46 lb of copper worth about US$302. Those are gross values. A mine recovers only part of the copper, pays smelter charges and carries mining and milling costs.

The calculator below turns your own grade, recovery and terms into a value per tonne and per pound of ore. Enter a price you have checked today, because the default of US$6.50 is an example.

From ore to payment: concentrate terms

A mill turns ore into concentrate, and the buyer, usually a smelter, pays for the copper in it under a contract. An AusIMM handbook chapter on revenue calculations shows the standard structure: the smelter pays for 96.5% of the copper content, with a minimum deduction of 1.10 units, and then takes treatment and refining charges (TC/RC) for turning concentrate into cathode. The chapter was written when copper traded near US$1 a pound, so use it for the structure, not for today’s numbers. AusIMM’s revenue chapter also lists penalties for impurities such as arsenic, lead and zinc.

Charges have changed a lot. Antofagasta and a Chinese smelter agreed 2026 benchmark terms of US$0 a tonne and 0 cents a pound, the lowest ever agreed, against US$21.25 a tonne and 2.125 cents a pound for 2025, Reuters reported in December 2025. Mines that sell on benchmark terms keep more of the metal price. Contracts outside the benchmark, and spot sales, can differ, so read your own terms. The calculator’s charge field is an input for this reason.

▶ Farmonaut video on copper in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Copperbelt · 13:34

What is the cost of copper per pound to produce?

Another reading of the same search is how much it costs a miner to make a pound. Freeport-McMoRan, a large US producer, reported unit net cash costs of US$1.97 per pound of copper in the second quarter of 2026, against an average realized price of US$6.17. In the second quarter of 2025 the figures were US$1.13 and US$4.54. Unit net cash cost counts operating costs minus by-product credits, such as gold and molybdenum sold with the copper. It excludes capital spending and the idle-facility and restoration costs tied to the September 2025 mud rush at its Grasberg mine in Indonesia, which were US$284 million, or US$1.86 a pound of copper, in the same quarter, so it is one company’s measure, not an industry average.

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Freeport-McMoRan: realized price and unit net cash cost

US$ per pound of copper, second quarter of each year

Cost per pound varies widely from mine to mine, with grade, depth, energy and by-products. Falling ore grades push it up. The USGS cites lower ore grades at several US mines as one reason domestic output slipped in 2025.

What moves the copper price

Four forces explain most of the 2026 swings, and each has a dated source.

• Mine supply. The ICSG reports that world mine output fell 1% in the first seven months of 2026, with concentrate output down in Chile, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Indonesia, where Grasberg is still constrained after the 2025 mud rush (ICSG press release, 24 September 2026).
• Demand and stocks. The same release shows world refined usage up 2.4% over the period and an apparent surplus of 32,000 tonnes. China accounts for about 59% of world refined use.
• Tariffs and the US stockpile. Mining.com says the market is waiting on a US tariff decision. Macquarie rates a decision against a tariff as the least likely outcome.
• Labour and weather. A preliminary labour deal at BHP’s Escondida mine in Chile took some of the supply premium out of the price on 14 October, and Mining.com notes that the El Teniente open pit stays shut after a landslide.

Analysts’ 2027 forecasts sit far apart, which shows how uncertain the outlook is. Mining.com lists Macquarie at US$12,750 a tonne for the 2027 average (about US$5.78 a pound), BMI at US$12,900 (US$5.85) and BMO at US$14,675 (US$6.66). Forecasts are not prices, and none is a recommendation to buy or sell.

▶ Farmonaut video on copper mining in Chile and why electric vehicles use so much copper · 6:03

How to check the price yourself, step by step

1. Pick the benchmark that matches your market. US buyers and sellers look at COMEX HG in US$ per lb. Exporters and most miners look at the LME in US$ per tonne.
2. Convert units. Divide a US$-per-tonne quote by 2,204.62 to get US$ per lb. US$14,741 a tonne becomes US$6.69 a pound.
3. Note the date and time. Quote the contract, the day and whether it was a settlement or an intraday trade. A trade at 11 a.m. and a settlement differ by cents.
4. Apply the form discount. For scrap, ask two yards for their boards and compare grade by grade. For concentrate, apply the payable percentage and charges in your contract.
5. Use your own grade for ore. Enter grade, recovery and terms in the calculator, then compare the result with your operating cost per tonne.

Looking for the neodymium price per pound?

This page used to cover neodymium as well. Neodymium is a rare earth, traded as oxide or metal and quoted per kilogram, with its own buyers and Chinese-market pricing, so it no longer sits well beside copper. Our guides cover it separately: neodymium price per kg and global trends and how much neodymium costs.

Copper deposits and sites: where to read more

If your interest in copper pricing is really about a project, deposit type decides grade, and grade decides value per tonne. Our guides to copper deposit types and where to explore, porphyry copper deposits and copper prospecting steps and claim fees cover that side. Farmonaut can map a licence area from satellite images to show exploration targets, ahead of any resource estimate.

Related reading on this site: Neodymium per MW Wind Turbine: kg by Drive Type.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cost of copper per pound today?

Copper futures traded near US$6.52 a pound on 15 October 2026 (Trading Economics). LME cash settled at US$14,741 a tonne on 13 October, about US$6.69 a pound. Quotes change daily, so check a live source before you act.

Is the copper price per pound the same on COMEX and LME?

No. COMEX quotes US$ per lb for delivery into US warehouses, and the LME quotes US$ per tonne. On 14 October, COMEX October copper at US$6.62 a pound traded below LME cash, a gap that Mining.com says has all but disappeared on a spot basis.

How do I convert US$ per tonne to US$ per pound?

Divide by 2,204.62, the number of pounds in a tonne. For example, US$14,741 a tonne divided by 2,204.62 is US$6.69 a pound.

How much is scrap copper worth per pound?

On 15 October 2026 a New Jersey yard posted US$5.70 for bare bright wire, US$5.40 for No. 1 tubing and US$5.25 for No. 2. A Kansas City yard posted US$5.52 to US$5.62 for bare bright. Prices differ by yard, grade and load size.

Why do scrap yards pay less than the COMEX price?

The benchmark is for refined cathode. A yard buys metal that still needs sorting, shipping and processing, and it keeps a margin. The yard’s price also depends on how clean the copper is: bare bright wire paid about 87% of the benchmark and No. 2 copper about 81% at the New Jersey yard.

What is the price of copper ore per pound?

There is no quoted price for ore. Its value depends on grade. At 0.44% Cu, the average porphyry grade in USGS data, the copper in a pound of ore is worth about 2.9 US cents at US$6.52 a pound, before recovery and smelter charges.

How much copper is in a tonne of ore?

At 0.44% Cu, a tonne holds 4.4 kg, about 9.7 lb. At 2.1% Cu, the USGS average for sediment-hosted deposits, it holds 21 kg, about 46 lb. A mine recovers only part of this.

What does it cost to produce a pound of copper?

It depends on the mine. Freeport-McMoRan reported unit net cash costs of US$1.97 per pound in the second quarter of 2026. That figure subtracts by-product credits and excludes capital spending, so it is not an all-in cost.

Is copper at a record high?

The most-active COMEX contract set a record settlement of US$6.89 a pound on 9 September 2026, according to Mining.com. The 15 October reading of US$6.52 comes from a futures-tracking CFD, not the COMEX settlement, but it was about 5% below that record, and Trading Economics’ own all-time high of US$6.85 gives a similar gap.

Where can I check the live copper price?

Use the CME Group for COMEX copper futures and the LME for the London price, or a data site such as Trading Economics. For Chilean reference prices, see the daily bulletin of Cochilco, Chile’s copper commission.

Why are analysts’ copper forecasts so far apart?

They disagree on whether US tariffs will come, on how much metal sits in US stocks and on China’s demand. Mining.com’s 14 October summary shows 2027 average forecasts from US$12,750 to US$14,675 a tonne.