China Copper Price Today
Live China copper price from the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE), shown in US dollars and Chinese yuan per tonne.
per tonne
per tonne
¥ per $1
China Copper Price (SHFE)
Shanghai Futures Exchange settlement in US dollars ($/tonne)
How China prices copper
China consumes roughly half of the world's refined copper, and the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) copper contract is the country's domestic price benchmark. SHFE settles copper in Chinese yuan per tonne; we convert it to US dollars so you can compare China's copper price with the LME and COMEX.
Why China's copper price matters
Copper is the bellwether base metal, its price tracks construction, power-grid buildout, and manufacturing, the engines of Chinese industrial demand. The gap between SHFE and LME copper (the 'SHFE-LME arbitrage') is watched closely as a read on Chinese physical tightness and import appetite.
Reading the chart in yuan and dollars
SHFE quotes copper in Chinese yuan per tonne (¥/t). Use the currency toggle above the chart to switch between the native yuan price and the US-dollar equivalent, which we compute from the live USD/CNY exchange rate. Viewing both makes it easy to separate a real move in the copper price from a move that is really just the yuan strengthening or weakening against the dollar. For warehouse inventory and settlement detail, see our SHFE copper page.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How is the China copper price set?
- China's domestic copper price is discovered on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) copper contract, settled daily in Chinese yuan per tonne. We convert the SHFE settlement to US dollars per tonne using the live USD/CNY rate so it can be compared with the LME and COMEX.
- Why does the China copper price differ from the LME price?
- Import logistics, the 13% VAT on physical metal, bonded-warehouse stock levels, and capital controls on the yuan all keep the SHFE price from tracking the LME exactly. The gap between the two, the SHFE-LME arbitrage, is what traders watch to judge Chinese physical tightness.
- What is the SHFE-LME copper arbitrage?
- It is the price difference between Shanghai and London copper once you adjust for the exchange rate and VAT. When SHFE copper trades rich to LME, importing metal into China becomes profitable, which pulls in cargoes; when it trades cheap, exports or destocking follow.
- What drives China's copper demand?
- The power grid, construction, air conditioning and appliances, and a fast-growing share from electric vehicles and renewable-energy buildout. Because China is about half of global copper consumption, the SHFE copper price is a closely watched gauge of the country's industrial activity.