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Copper Price in 2021

In 2021, the price of copper averaged $4.23 per pound, up 51.1% from the year before. This page covers the 2021 average, high, low, and year-end close, the events that moved the market, and what that copper would be worth in today's dollars.

2021 Average

$4.23

LME/COMEX annual average, USD/lb

Change vs 2020

+51.1%

from $2.80 in 2020

2021 High

$4.89

from daily trading data

2021 Low

$3.49

from daily trading data

Year-End Close

$4.46

last trading day of 2021

What happened to the copper price in 2021

Copper averaged $4.23 per pound in 2021, surging 51.1% from the $2.80 average of 2020. Annual moves of that size are rare and put 2021 among the most explosive years in the metal's modern history. Daily trading data shows copper moved between a low of $3.49 and a high of $4.89 during the year, ending 2021 at $4.46. The defining story of 2021: Post-COVID boom; supply disruptions.

The 2020s have been a structural bull market for copper. After a COVID crash to $2.10, unprecedented stimulus, tight mine supply, and surging demand from electric vehicles, renewables, and AI data centers drove copper to fresh records above $5 a pound.

Adjusted for inflation, copper's 2021 average of $4.23 equals about $5.03 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 2021?
Copper averaged $4.23 per pound in 2021, based on LME and COMEX annual average data. Daily prices ranged from a low of $3.49 to a high of $4.89, and the year closed at $4.46. That average was up 51.1% from $2.80 in 2020.
What is a 2021 copper price worth in today's dollars?
Adjusted with the US Consumer Price Index, copper's 2021 average of $4.23 works out to roughly $5.03 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 2021?
The defining story of 2021: Post-COVID boom; supply disruptions. Against that backdrop, the annual average climbed 51.1%, from $2.80 in 2020 to $4.23.

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.