Copper Price in 1980

In 1980, the price of copper averaged $0.99 per pound, up 10.0% from the year before. This page covers the 1980 average, high, low, and year-end close, the events that moved the market, and what that copper would be worth in today's dollars.

1980 Average

$0.99

LME/COMEX annual average, USD/lb

Change vs 1979

+10.0%

from $0.90 in 1979

What happened to the copper price in 1980

Copper averaged $0.99 per pound in 1980, up 10.0% from $0.90 the year before. The notable development of 1980: Inflation peak; Volcker rate hikes.

The 1980s were mostly difficult for copper. Volcker's rate hikes, a deep early-decade recession, and the Latin American debt crisis kept prices depressed for years before a late-decade surge on strong global demand pushed copper back above a dollar.

Adjusted for inflation, copper's 1980 average of $0.99 equals about $3.87 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 copper in 1980?

Copper averaged $0.99 per pound in 1980, based on LME and COMEX annual average data. That average was up 10.0% from $0.90 in 1979.

What is a 1980 copper price worth in today's dollars?

Adjusted with the US Consumer Price Index, copper's 1980 average of $0.99 works out to roughly $3.87 in today's dollars, using 2025 as the CPI base year. The conversion uses BLS CPI-U annual averages, so treat it as a close approximation rather than an exact figure.

What moved the copper price in 1980?

The defining story of 1980: Inflation peak; Volcker rate hikes. Against that backdrop, the annual average climbed 10.0%, from $0.90 in 1979 to $0.99.

Annual averages are LME and COMEX copper prices per pound in US dollars. Where shown, the yearly high, low, and close come from MetalCharts daily historical data and may differ slightly from figures published elsewhere. Inflation adjustments use BLS CPI-U annual averages.