Aluminum Price in 1981
In 1981, the price of aluminum averaged $1,263 per tonne, down 28.8% from the year before. This page covers the 1981 average, high, low, and year-end close, the events that moved the market, and what that aluminum would be worth in today's dollars.
1981 Average
$1,263
LME annual average, USD/tonne
Change vs 1980
-28.8%
from $1,775 in 1980
What happened to the aluminum price in 1981
Aluminum averaged $1,263 per tonne in 1981, sliding 28.8% from the $1,775 average of 1980.
A deep early-1980s recession pulled aluminum back below $1,000, before a late-decade supply squeeze from capacity closures and depleted inventories spiked it to a then-record near $2,550 in 1988.
Adjusted for inflation, aluminum's 1981 average of $1,263 equals about $4,478 in today's dollars. The conversion uses US Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U annual averages, so treat it as a close approximation rather than an exact figure.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the price of aluminum in 1981?
What is a 1981 aluminum price worth in today's dollars?
Annual averages are World Bank and LME aluminum prices per tonne in US dollars (LME cash and settlement basis). Values before the LME aluminium contract launched in October 1978 are producer and list-price proxies, and the 2025 figure is preliminary. Where daily data exists, the per-year high, low, and close come from MetalCharts historical data. Inflation adjustments use BLS CPI-U annual averages.