Copper Price in 1982

In 1982, the price of copper averaged $0.67 per pound, down 15.2% from the year before. This page covers the 1982 average, high, low, and year-end close, the events that moved the market, and what that copper would be worth in today's dollars.

1982 Average

$0.67

LME/COMEX annual average, USD/lb

Change vs 1981

-15.2%

from $0.79 in 1981

What happened to the copper price in 1982

Copper averaged $0.67 per pound in 1982, sliding 15.2% from the $0.79 average of 1981. The notable development of 1982: Deep recession; Latin American debt crisis.

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 1982 average of $0.67 equals about $2.24 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 1982?

Copper averaged $0.67 per pound in 1982, based on LME and COMEX annual average data. That average was down 15.2% from $0.79 in 1981.

What is a 1982 copper price worth in today's dollars?

Adjusted with the US Consumer Price Index, copper's 1982 average of $0.67 works out to roughly $2.24 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 1982?

The defining story of 1982: Deep recession; Latin American debt crisis. Against that backdrop, the annual average fell 15.2%, from $0.79 in 1981 to $0.67.

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.