Copper Price in 2016

In 2016, the price of copper averaged $2.21 per pound, down 11.2% from the year before. This page covers the 2016 average, high, low, and year-end close, the events that moved the market, and what that copper would be worth in today's dollars.

2016 Average

$2.21

LME/COMEX annual average, USD/lb

Change vs 2015

-11.2%

from $2.49 in 2015

What happened to the copper price in 2016

Copper averaged $2.21 per pound in 2016, down 11.2% from $2.49 the year before. The notable development of 2016: Copper at 7-year low.

The 2010s opened at record highs near $4.65 a pound in 2011, then ground lower for years as Chinese growth slowed, commodities sold off, and US-China trade tensions weighed on sentiment, before a late-decade stabilization.

Adjusted for inflation, copper's 2016 average of $2.21 equals about $2.97 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 2016?

Copper averaged $2.21 per pound in 2016, based on LME and COMEX annual average data. That average was down 11.2% from $2.49 in 2015.

What is a 2016 copper price worth in today's dollars?

Adjusted with the US Consumer Price Index, copper's 2016 average of $2.21 works out to roughly $2.97 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 2016?

The defining story of 2016: Copper at 7-year low. Against that backdrop, the annual average fell 11.2%, from $2.49 in 2015 to $2.21.

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.