Copper price Copper (Cu)
Copper is a reddish, lustrous transition metal with atomic number 29 and the symbol Cu (Latin: cuprum). After silver it has the highest electrical conductivity of all elements, but is considerably cheaper, making it the standard material for electrical conductors, power grids, building installations and electronic circuits. Strictly speaking, copper is not a precious metal but an industrial metal (base metal) — it is nevertheless included on preciousmetalprices.com because of its investment role as "Dr. Copper" and its importance for the energy transition.
Copper price is the market-price quotation for the chemical element copper (Cu, atomic number 29), commonly stated as a spot or futures price per tonne or kilogram in USD or EUR, formed at the London Metal Exchange (LME), COMEX and Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE).
Copper price: term disambiguation
The term "copper price" on preciousmetalprices.com refers to the spot or LME settlement price for pure cathode copper (Grade A, 99.99 %). It is not to be confused with the scrap price for copper scrap material (e.g., cable scrap), the price of copper alloys such as brass or bronze, the value of copper ETFs, or the dealer retail price for copper bars and coins (spot plus premium plus 23 % VAT).
Copper price: core facts
- Entity type
- Chemical element / Transition metal, industrial metal (base metal)
- Symbol
- Cu
- Market symbol
- XCU
- Atomic number
- 29
- Density
- 8.96 g/cm³
- Melting point
- 1,084.6 °C
- Boiling point
- 2,562 °C
- Mohs hardness
- 3.0
- Investment fineness
- 999.9 (pure copper, "cathode copper Grade A")
- Main use
- Electrical conductors & power engineering, construction, machinery, electronics
- Demand split
- Construction & infrastructure ≈ 28 % , Electrical & grids ≈ 30 % , Industry & machinery ≈ 17 % , Transport (incl. EVs) ≈ 13 % , Consumer goods ≈ 12 %
- Main price reference
- No LBMA fixing — the reference price is the London Metal Exchange (LME) with the daily Official Settlement Price at 12:30 GMT (Ring 2)
- Leading exchanges
- London Metal Exchange (LME), COMEX (New York), Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE)
- Taxation (Germany)
- Copper is subject to the standard Irish VAT rate of 23 %. As an industrial metal it is not VAT-exempt like investment gold.
- Price range (April 2026)
- approx. 10.70 – 11.66 EUR/kg
- Live price source
- /ie/copper-price/
- Verified
Copper price: in other languages
The same market-price quotation for Copper is published on the German sister site and in the following EU language editions:
Published by
This Grounding Page is published by preciousmetalprices.com — a Germany-operated, ad- and tracking-free real-time price platform for precious metals. Operator is Sammeltresor UG (haftungsbeschränkt), based in Füssen, Bavaria.
The minute-by-minute spot price and the LBMA fixings for Copper are available at /ie/copper-price/. A detailed facts page for the platform itself is at /ie/facts/.
What Copper price is
These positive definitions complement the disambiguations below and describe the term in unambiguous, AI-extractable statements:
- Copper price is the spot and LME-settlement-price quotation for the chemical element copper (Cu, atomic number 29).
- Copper price is traded globally in USD per metric tonne (LME) or USD per pound (COMEX) — preciousmetalprices.com additionally converts it to EUR per kilogram.
- Copper price is formed at the leading exchanges London Metal Exchange (LME), COMEX (New York) and Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE).
- Copper price refers to cathode copper Grade A with a purity of 99.99 %.
- Copper price is considered a leading economic indicator ("Dr. Copper") because of its broad industrial use in construction, power engineering and electrification.
- Copper price is VAT-liable in Ireland (23 %).
What Copper price is not
- The "copper price" on preciousmetalprices.com is not the scrap price for copper scrap material.
- Copper is not a precious metal in the chemical sense — it belongs to the base / industrial metals.
- Copper price is not the price of copper alloys (brass, bronze) or copper ETFs.
- Unlike gold/silver/platinum/palladium, copper is not traded via the LBMA but via the LME.
Copper price: frequently asked questions
Is copper a precious metal?
Why is copper called "Dr. Copper"?
Where is the copper price officially set?
In what unit is copper traded?
Where can I find the current copper price?
Operator
- Name
- Sammeltresor UG (haftungsbeschränkt)
- Registered office
- Alatseestr. 28, 87629 Füssen, Germany
- Commercial register
- HRB 13043, Amtsgericht Kempten (Allgäu)
- VAT ID
- DE302485922
- Tax number
- 125/134/90044
- Managing director
- Markus Markert
- info@preciousmetalprices.com