Gold and Copper Price Trends: Chart and Drivers

Gold averaged US$3,442 per troy ounce in 2025, and copper averaged US$9,947 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange (World Bank price data, October 2026). From the 2023 averages that is a rise of about 77% for gold and 17% for copper. In the third quarter of 2026 the averages were US$4,268 for gold and US$14,114 for copper, so gold has slipped back from its first-quarter peak while copper has kept climbing. Kitco showed a gold spot bid of US$4,157.70 at 2:50 p.m. EDT on 15 October 2026, and the LME cash-settlement price for copper was US$14,751 per tonne on 14 October 2026 (Westmetall LME table).

This page is written for investors who want the numbers behind a metal price move. It gives dated prices, a chart that puts both metals on one scale, the supply and demand data that explain the moves, miner cost data, and a calculator for what a price change does to a mine’s margin. A few terms first. A troy ounce is 31.1035 grams. The LME is the London Metal Exchange, and COMEX is the New York futures market where copper is quoted in US dollars per pound. LBMA is the London Bullion Market Association, whose twice-daily auction sets the benchmark gold price. A spot price is the price for immediate delivery. Grade is the amount of metal in the rock. This page is for information only. It is not investment advice.

Gold and copper prices in numbers

The table shows annual averages and the third-quarter 2026 average from one source, so the figures are comparable. The last column is calculated by Farmonaut from the table values.

Source: World Bank, Commodity Price Data (The Pink Sheet), October 2026. Gold is the spot average of daily rates and copper is the LME grade A cash price.

Sources do not agree to the dollar, because each uses its own benchmark and date. The World Gold Council reports that the LBMA PM gold price averaged US$4,506.29 per ounce in the second quarter of 2026, against US$4,512 in the World Bank table. The US Geological Survey (USGS) gave an early estimate of US$3,300 per ounce for 2025, which is lower than the World Bank’s final average of US$3,442. When you compare two charts, check which benchmark and which period each one uses.

For US-dollar copper per pound, the COMEX contract was quoted at US$6.52 per pound on 15 October 2026, and that aggregator lists an all-time high of US$6.72 on 13 May 2026. A tonne is 2,204.62 pounds, so US$6.52 per pound is about US$14,374 per tonne. COMEX and LME prices differ a little because they are different contracts in different places and at different times of day.

How gold and copper prices moved quarter by quarter

Quarterly averages show the two metals taking different paths. Gold averaged US$3,459 in the third quarter of 2025, rose to US$4,876 in the first quarter of 2026, then fell to US$4,512 and US$4,268. Copper rose in every quarter shown, from US$9,808 to US$14,114. By the third quarter of 2026, gold was 12.5% below its first-quarter average and copper was 10.0% above its first-quarter average (both calculated from the World Bank table).

Chart

Gold and copper, quarterly average price index

Third quarter 2025 = 100; both metals on one scale

The peak for gold was higher than any quarterly average. The World Gold Council reports that the LBMA price hit a historical high of US$5,405 per ounce in January 2026, followed by a notable correction. The Kitco bid of US$4,157.70 on 15 October 2026 is about 23% below that peak (a spot bid compared with an LBMA PM figure, so treat the gap as approximate).

Copper was volatile inside the year too. The International Copper Study Group (ICSG) reports a 2026 low of US$11,826 per tonne on 19 March and a high of US$14,850 per tonne on 17 August (to 22 September), with a year-to-date LME cash average of US$13,395, which is 35% above the 2025 annual average.

One more way to read the two lines together is the amount of gold a tonne of copper would buy. At the quarterly averages, that was 2.8 ounces in the third quarter of 2025 and 3.3 ounces in the third quarter of 2026 (calculated from the World Bank table). Copper has gained on gold over the past year, even though gold is still far above where it stood in 2023.

What moves the gold price

Gold has little industrial use, so its price follows investment, official-sector buying and how much metal reaches the market. The World Gold Council’s Gold Demand Trends report for the second quarter of 2026 is the clearest recent source, and the points below come from it unless another link is given.

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Largest gold mining countries, 2024

Mine production, tonnes of gold; eight largest producers

Central banks and investors

Total gold demand was flat on the year at 1,269 tonnes in the second quarter of 2026, worth a record US$380 billion for the first half. Central banks and other official bodies added a net 289 tonnes to reserves in the quarter, up 62% on the year. The council notes in its first-quarter report and in the second-quarter release that its first-quarter central bank figure was revised down from 244 tonnes to 57 tonnes, with the difference moved to over-the-counter (OTC) demand, which is private trading not recorded on an exchange. In the council’s Central Bank Gold Reserves Survey, 45% of respondents said they intend to raise their own gold reserves over the next 12 months.

Investors moved the other way when the price fell. Gold-backed exchange-traded funds (ETFs, funds that hold bullion) saw 45 tonnes of outflows in the second quarter, which the council links to weaker prices, higher inflation and interest rate expectations in North America, and a stronger US dollar. Bar and coin demand held steady at 307 tonnes. For the second half of 2026 the council says Western ETF interest may be more closely linked to real yields (interest rates after inflation), US monetary policy expectations and the dollar.

Jewellery, technology and recycling

High prices cut the weight of gold people buy but not the money they spend. Jewellery demand fell to 278 tonnes in the second quarter, the lowest quarterly volume since the pandemic, while spending on gold jewellery rose 14% on the year to US$40 billion. Technology demand was 80 tonnes, about 6% of the 1,269-tonne total (our calculation), so electronics are a small part of the gold story. Recycling fell 6% on the year despite the higher price.

Mine supply

Mine production rose an estimated 2% on the year to 966 tonnes in the second quarter, helped by new output in Canada and Chile. For the full year, the USGS estimates world gold mine production at 3,300 tonnes in 2025 (estimate), with world reserves of 66,000 tonnes. Reserves are the part of a deposit that can be mined at a profit with today’s technology and prices, so the number changes when prices or costs change. Output is spread across many countries, and no country mines as much as an eighth of the total.

Gold mines also respond slowly. The council’s own outlook sees only modest growth potential from mine production and recycling in the second half of 2026, so changes in investment demand move the price more than changes in supply do.

▶ Follows a gold nugget from rock to ring, showing the mining and refining steps behind the ounces that reach the market. · 5:27

What moves the copper price

Copper’s price is set mainly by mine output, factory and construction demand, and the metal sitting in warehouses. Mine problems have mattered more than demand shocks in 2025 and 2026.

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Largest copper mining countries, 2025 estimate

Mine production, thousand tonnes of copper; eight largest producers

Mine supply is tight

In April 2026 the ICSG forecast world copper mine production growth of 1.6% in 2026 and 2.3% in 2027, and noted that output at Grasberg (Indonesia) and Kamoa (Democratic Republic of Congo) is constrained after major incidents in 2025. Preliminary data back that up. World mine production fell 1% in the first seven months of 2026. Chilean output fell 7%, mainly at El Teniente, Escondida and Spence. Indonesian concentrate output fell 29% because of a mud rush at Grasberg in September 2025, and DRC concentrate output fell 30% after a seismic event at Kamoa. Concentrate is the powder of copper minerals made at the mine before smelting. Australian output fell about 10% after the Mount Isa mine closed in July 2025.

The USGS puts world copper mine production at 23,000 thousand tonnes (23 million tonnes) in 2025 (estimate). Chile alone supplies about 23% of that, and Chile, the DRC and Peru together about 49% (shares calculated from the USGS table). A fault at one big mine in any of these countries can move the market.

Demand, stocks and the balance

The ICSG reports that apparent world refined copper usage rose 2.4% in the first seven months of 2026, with China accounting for about 59% of world usage. In April 2026 the group cut its forecast for 2026 usage growth to 1.6% from 2.1%, citing uncertainty linked to the conflict in the Middle East. The ICSG’s April forecast moved the 2026 refined balance to a surplus, from a deficit of 150,000 tonnes forecast the previous October. Its forecast of 14 October 2026 puts the surplus at about 104,000 tonnes in 2026 and 368,000 tonnes in 2027 (reported by Reuters and Mining.com), with usage growth of about 1.5% in 2026 and 2.5% in 2027.

Warehouse stocks are the signal many traders watch. Copper held at the LME, COMEX and Shanghai exchanges totalled 997,600 tonnes at the end of August 2026, the highest since June 2003 and 34% above the end of December 2025, with most of the rise at COMEX. The ICSG’s preliminary balance for the first seven months of 2026 was a surplus of about 32,000 tonnes, or a deficit of about 5,000 tonnes once estimated changes in Chinese bonded stocks are included. In plain terms, the physical market looks close to balance in the near term while prices sit near the top of their range, so the price reflects expected shortages as well as today’s tonnes.

The long-run gap

Longer forecasts are far more bullish than the near-term balance. An S&P Global study published in January 2026 projects copper demand of 42 million tonnes by 2040, up 50%, with supply peaking at 33 million tonnes in 2030 and a deficit of 10 million tonnes by 2040. The study lists declining ore grades, rising costs, difficult extraction conditions and long reviews among the reasons, and says a new copper mine takes 17 years on average from discovery to production. These are projections from one firm, not measurements, and they run to 2040 while the ICSG forecasts run to 2027, which is why the two can both be right. For deposit types and the countries that hold them, see our guides to copper deposits and top producing countries and porphyry copper deposits, and our overview of the Phoenix Copper project as one example of a new copper mine.

Why gold and copper do not always move together

Gold is held as a store of value, so its price responds to interest rates, the dollar, central bank buying and investor fear. Copper is used in wiring, buildings, vehicles and power grids. The USGS reports that in the United States, copper and copper alloy products went to building construction (42%), electrical and electronic products (23%), transportation equipment (18%), consumer goods (10%) and industrial machinery (7%), according to the Copper Development Association. Because the uses differ, the prices can part ways, and they did between the first and third quarters of 2026.

Both metals are mined, though, and sometimes in the same orebody. Copper-gold porphyry deposits yield both, and the USGS notes that nearly a quarter of undiscovered US gold resources are estimated to sit in porphyry copper deposits. For a miner of such a deposit, the gold credit can lower the net cost of each tonne of copper, so a fall in one price is partly offset by the other. The mix differs for every mine.

What higher prices do to miner margins

A miner’s margin is the gap between the price it receives and the cost of making each unit. When the price rises faster than costs, the margin widens by more than the price does. Barrick’s 2025 annual report shows the pattern clearly. Its realized gold price rose 46% to US$3,501 per ounce in 2025 while its all-in sustaining cost (AISC) rose 10% to US$1,637 per ounce. AISC is a company-reported measure that adds sustaining capital and site overheads to cash operating costs, and firms define it slightly differently, so compare it with care. By the same report, the gap between the realized price and AISC was about US$913 per ounce in 2024 and US$1,864 per ounce in 2025 (our subtraction of the reported figures).

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Barrick: gold price received vs all-in sustaining cost

US$ per ounce; Barrick realized gold price and gold AISC, by year

Copper showed a smaller version of the same effect. Barrick reported a realized copper price of US$4.72 per pound in 2025 against an AISC of US$3.20 per pound. Costs move as well: Barrick’s copper AISC fell 7% in 2025 while its gold AISC rose, so each metal has its own cost path.

The same arithmetic works in reverse. If the price falls 10% and costs stay put, the margin falls by far more than 10%. Use the calculator below with your own numbers.

How price swings reach exploration decisions

A high price does not create ore. It changes how much of the existing rock can be mined at a profit. Mining teams call the lowest grade worth mining the cut-off grade. When the metal price rises and costs hold, the cut-off falls, more rock counts as ore, and projects that did not pay before can be restarted or expanded. When the price falls, the reverse happens and mines stop mining their lowest-grade zones first.

For explorers and investors in small companies, the useful question is what sits behind a price headline. Is the company mining, developing or exploring? Does it hold a mineral resource estimate, and at what price was it made? Early-stage ground has no resource at all, only a target that needs drilling. Satellite screening can help at that early stage by mapping surface clues such as iron-oxide staining, clay minerals and fault lines to rank ground before field work. Farmonaut’s satellite-based mineral detection reports are delivered in 5 to 20 business days, and the output is an exploration target that sits ahead of a resource estimate, not a resource or an environmental clearance. To scope a licence area, request a quote here or contact the team. For how gold is searched for in the field, see our guide to mining prospecting for gold.

▶ Explains how satellites map the rock and alteration around a gold system rather than the gold itself. · 4:25

How to read a metal price chart

• Benchmark. Gold can be a spot bid, the LBMA PM auction or a futures price. Copper can be LME cash, LME three-month or COMEX. They differ by a little at any moment.
• Unit. Gold is quoted per troy ounce and copper per tonne (LME) or per pound (COMEX). Convert before comparing: one tonne is 2,204.62 pounds.
• Average or close. An annual average hides the swings. Gold’s 2025 average was US$3,442, yet it traded far above and below that figure across 2026.
• Nominal or real. Charts in dollars of the day do not remove inflation. A price at a new high in nominal terms may not be a high after inflation.
• Date and source. A price without a date can be weeks old. Look for the time stamp and the publisher.
• Official data. The LBMA publishes the gold benchmark, the LME publishes copper prices and stocks, and the World Bank posts monthly averages for both in its Pink Sheet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the gold price per ounce right now?

Kitco showed a spot bid of US$4,157.70 per troy ounce at 2:50 p.m. EDT on 15 October 2026. Spot prices change every few seconds while markets are open, so check a live source such as Kitco or the LBMA for the current figure.

What is the copper price per tonne?

The LME cash-settlement price was US$14,751 per tonne on 14 October 2026, according to Westmetall’s LME table. COMEX copper was US$6.52 per pound on 15 October 2026, about US$14,374 per tonne.

Why did gold fall from its January peak?

The World Gold Council says the early-2026 rally reversed in the second quarter, with prices consolidating after a correction from record highs. Gold ETFs had outflows of 45 tonnes in the quarter, linked to higher inflation and interest rate expectations and a stronger dollar, while central bank buying stayed large at 289 tonnes.

Why has the copper price risen so far?

Mine output is constrained at Grasberg, Kamoa and in Chile, and forecasters expect demand to grow with electrification. ICSG data show world mine production down 1% in the first seven months of 2026, and the LME cash average was up 35% on the 2025 average. The price also reflects expected shortages, since exchange stocks are high.

Is there a copper shortage?

It depends on the period. The ICSG forecasts a refined copper surplus of about 104,000 tonnes in 2026 and 368,000 tonnes in 2027 (forecast of 14 October 2026, as reported by Mining.com), while S&P Global projects a supply deficit of 10 million tonnes by 2040. The first is a near-term balance and the second a long-run projection.

Who mines the most gold and copper?

China mined the most gold in 2024 at 377 tonnes, ahead of Russia at 310 tonnes and Australia at 284 tonnes (USGS, 2026). For copper, Chile leads with an estimated 5.3 million tonnes in 2025, followed by the DRC at 3.2 million tonnes and Peru at 2.7 million tonnes (USGS estimates).

How long does it take to open a new copper mine?

S&P Global puts the average at 17 years from discovery to production for a new copper mine. That is why a price spike cannot bring new supply quickly, though restarts and expansions of existing mines can be faster.

How do central banks affect the gold price?

Central banks have bought at high levels for the past four years, according to the World Gold Council. They added a net 289 tonnes in the second quarter of 2026, and 45% of banks surveyed plan to increase reserves over 12 months. Official buying has helped hold up demand when investors sold ETFs.

Where can I find official gold and copper price data?

The LBMA publishes the gold benchmark, the LME publishes copper prices and stocks, and the World Bank’s Pink Sheet gives monthly and annual averages. For supply, use the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries and the ICSG. For demand, use the World Gold Council’s Gold Demand Trends reports.

Do higher prices mean more mines will open?

Not quickly. Higher prices raise the value of existing deposits and can restart idled mines, but new mines need exploration, permits and construction. A resource estimate also depends on the price and cost assumptions used when it was made.