Copper Price in 1988

In 1988, the price of copper averaged $1.18 per pound, up 45.7% from the year before. This page covers the 1988 average, high, low, and year-end close, the events that moved the market, and what that copper would be worth in today's dollars.

1988 Average

$1.18

LME/COMEX annual average, USD/lb

Change vs 1987

+45.7%

from $0.81 in 1987

What happened to the copper price in 1988

Copper averaged $1.18 per pound in 1988, climbing 45.7% from the $0.81 average of 1987. The defining story of 1988: Strong global demand.

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 1988 average of $1.18 equals about $3.21 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 1988?

Copper averaged $1.18 per pound in 1988, based on LME and COMEX annual average data. That average was up 45.7% from $0.81 in 1987.

What is a 1988 copper price worth in today's dollars?

Adjusted with the US Consumer Price Index, copper's 1988 average of $1.18 works out to roughly $3.21 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 1988?

The defining story of 1988: Strong global demand. Against that backdrop, the annual average climbed 45.7%, from $0.81 in 1987 to $1.18.

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.