Copper Price in 2008
In 2008, the price of copper averaged $3.15 per pound, down 2.5% from the year before. This page covers the 2008 average, high, low, and year-end close, the events that moved the market, and what that copper would be worth in today's dollars.
2008 Average
$3.15
LME/COMEX annual average, USD/lb
Change vs 2007
-2.5%
from $3.23 in 2007
What happened to the copper price in 2008
Copper averaged $3.15 per pound in 2008, down 2.5% from $3.23 the year before. The notable development of 2008: Financial crisis; crash from $4 to $1.25.
The 2000s were defined by the China supercycle. Explosive Chinese urbanization and infrastructure spending quadrupled copper between 2003 and 2006, driving it above $3 a pound, before the 2008 financial crisis produced a devastating crash and a rapid stimulus-fueled recovery.
Adjusted for inflation, copper's 2008 average of $3.15 equals about $4.72 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 2008?
What is a 2008 copper price worth in today's dollars?
What moved the copper price in 2008?
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.