Copper Price in 1987

In 1987, the price of copper averaged $0.81 per pound, up 30.6% from the year before. This page covers the 1987 average, high, low, and year-end close, the events that moved the market, and what that copper would be worth in today's dollars.

1987 Average

$0.81

LME/COMEX annual average, USD/lb

Change vs 1986

+30.6%

from $0.62 in 1986

What happened to the copper price in 1987

Copper averaged $0.81 per pound in 1987, climbing 30.6% from the $0.62 average of 1986. The defining story of 1987: Economic recovery; Black Monday.

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 1987 average of $0.81 equals about $2.30 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 1987?

Copper averaged $0.81 per pound in 1987, based on LME and COMEX annual average data. That average was up 30.6% from $0.62 in 1986.

What is a 1987 copper price worth in today's dollars?

Adjusted with the US Consumer Price Index, copper's 1987 average of $0.81 works out to roughly $2.30 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 1987?

The defining story of 1987: Economic recovery; Black Monday. Against that backdrop, the annual average climbed 30.6%, from $0.62 in 1986 to $0.81.

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.