Short intro
The price of copper per pound sits at the center of global manufacturing, electrification, recycling, and speculative trading. Whether you’re a scrap seller checking “near me” prices, a manufacturer budgeting input costs, or an investor tracking macro signals, copper remains one of the most revealing industrial benchmarks.

This updated 2026 guide explains current copper prices per pound, how spot, futures, and scrap markets interact, why regional prices differ, and how recycling economics feed back into refined supply. It also places today’s prices into a longer-term structural context shaped by electrification, constrained mine supply, and uneven global demand.

What you’ll learn

• Current copper price per pound benchmarks (COMEX / spot) as of early 2026
• Realistic US scrap copper price ranges by grade
• Why Texas, California, and “near me” prices differ
• How spot, futures, and scrap pricing connect
• How to use charts, averages, and inventories to interpret price moves
• Practical tips to maximize scrap copper returns
• Key industry statistics: production, reserves, and supply risks

Key statistics (quick view — updated for early 2026)

• Benchmark refined copper price: approximately $4.20–$4.50 per lb (COMEX front-month range, late Dec 2025 to early Jan 2026 trading band)
• Common US scrap copper ranges (late 2025 / early 2026):
• Bare Bright: $3.20–$4.10 / lb
• #1 Copper: $3.00–$3.80 / lb
• #2 Copper: $2.50–$3.30 / lb
• Global mined copper output (2024 est.): ~23 million metric tons
• US mine production (2024): ~1.1 million metric tons
• Global copper reserves: hundreds of millions of tonnes, but declining ore grades and long project lead times remain a structural constraint

1) INTRODUCTION

Copper prices per pound matter because copper is everywhere. Power grids, EVs, construction, data centers, appliances, and industrial machinery all depend on it. Unlike precious metals, copper has almost no emotional premium. Its price mostly reflects real demand, real supply, and real friction in logistics and mining.

In US markets, copper is quoted per pound, mainly via COMEX futures and spot dealer feeds. Scrap yards anchor their payouts to these benchmarks, adjusting for grade, cleanliness, and local conditions. Understanding copper pricing therefore means understanding three layers at once:

1. global refined benchmarks,
2. futures and spot market dynamics, and
3. local scrap economics.

2) PRICE OF COPPER PER POUND (BENCHMARK)

The headline “price of copper per pound” typically refers to COMEX front-month futures, quoted in USD/lb. This is the most visible reference for North American markets.

Updated 2026 context

By late December 2025 and into early January 2026, copper prices cooled from mid-2025 highs. The market moved from tightness-driven optimism to a more cautious stance due to:

• Slower-than-expected Chinese manufacturing recovery
• High interest rates dampening construction and durable goods demand
• Limited but steady mine supply growth offsetting some earlier disruptions

As a result, early-2026 pricing stabilized in the $4.20–$4.50 per lb range, down from the $4.90–$5.00 highs seen during 2025 supply scares.

What still moves the benchmark

• Exchange inventories (COMEX and LME stocks)
• USD strength or weakness
• Chinese import and infrastructure data
• Mine disruptions in Chile, Peru, and the DRC
• Long-term electrification expectations

Copper remains volatile, but the market is now more sensitive to demand disappointments than to hypothetical shortages.

3) PRICE OF COPPER PER POUND IN TEXAS

Texas scrap copper prices closely track national benchmarks but are shaped by logistics and industrial demand.

Why Texas matters

• Major ports (Houston)
• Strong construction and energy infrastructure demand
• High scrap throughput and competition among yards

Typical Texas scrap ranges (early 2026)

• Bare Bright: $3.20–$4.10 / lb
• #1 Copper: $3.00–$3.80 / lb
• #2 Copper: $2.50–$3.30 / lb

Houston and Dallas yards often pay near the top of national ranges for clean material, while smaller cities trend lower. Day-to-day variation is normal, especially during volatile futures sessions.

4) SCRAP PRICE OF COPPER PER POUND

Scrap copper pricing is not mysterious. It is a discounted derivative of refined copper, adjusted for:

• Purity
• Processing cost
• Local competition
• Transport distance to smelters

Scrap grades explained

• Bare Bright: clean, uncoated, unalloyed copper wire. Highest value.
• #1 Copper: clean pipe and tubing with minimal solder.
• #2 Copper: dirty, oxidized, soldered, or mixed copper.

As refined copper prices soften, scrap prices usually fall faster because yards widen margins to protect against volatility.

5) SPOT PRICE OF COPPER PER POUND

The spot price reflects immediate delivery conditions, not long-term expectations. It is heavily influenced by:

• Nearby futures spreads
• Warehouse stocks
• Physical tightness or surplus

In late 2025, spot pricing tracked futures closely, indicating no acute physical shortage. That matters because sharp spot premiums are often early warning signals of supply stress. Their absence suggests a more balanced short-term market entering 2026.

6) AVERAGE PRICE OF COPPER PER POUND

Average prices depend entirely on timeframe.

• Daily averages: noisy and misleading
• Monthly averages: useful for contracts and budgeting
• Annual averages: helpful for macro analysis

For procurement and financial planning, a 3- to 6-month rolling average is usually superior to chasing spot prices. Copper’s volatility punishes short-term thinking.

7) PRICE OF COPPER PER POUND “NEAR ME”

When people search “price of copper per pound near me,” they are almost always looking for local scrap yard payouts, not global benchmarks.

Practical tips

• Use scrap apps or yard websites for same-day prices
• Call ahead for large loads
• Ask how the yard defines grades
• Confirm ID and weighing policies

Local pricing can differ by 20–40 cents per lb between yards on the same day. That difference matters.

8) PRICE OF COPPER PER POUND CHART

A useful copper chart should show:

• Daily USD/lb pricing
• Multiple timeframes (1M, 1Y, 5Y, 10Y)
• Moving averages (50-day, 200-day)
• Exchange inventory overlays

Long-term charts show copper’s structural uptrend. Short-term charts reveal how violently the market reacts to macro headlines. Both matter, for different reasons.

9) COPPER RECYCLING & PRICE IMPACT

Recycled copper is not marginal supply. It is structural supply.

When mining output tightens or smelters face constraints, scrap becomes more valuable. Clean scrap flows faster into refining because it requires less energy and processing.

For sellers, the rule is boring but effective:
cleaner copper equals higher prices, every time.

10) PRICE OF COPPER PER POUND OVER TIME

Copper’s long-term price trend reflects:

• Inflation
• Urbanization
• Electrification
• Rising energy intensity

Short-term cycles still dominate headlines, but the long-term picture remains constructive. The contradiction defining copper in 2026 is simple: demand growth is real, but uneven, while supply growth is slow, expensive, and politically fragile.

11) PRICE OF COPPER PER POUND IN CALIFORNIA

California prices resemble national averages but are shaped by:

• Higher regulatory costs
• Dense yard competition in metro areas
• Strict scrap compliance rules

Urban yards sometimes offer slightly better retail pricing to attract volume, but commercial sellers often negotiate contracts instead of spot payouts.

12) CONCLUSION

The price of copper per pound is not just a number. It’s a compressed signal of industrial health, supply discipline, recycling economics, and global confidence.

For 2026, copper enters the year less euphoric, more selective, and deeply tied to real demand rather than hype. Whether you are trading, buying, or selling scrap, the smartest approach remains the same: track live benchmarks, understand grade economics, and avoid reacting emotionally to short-term volatility.