Market Data

Copper at $13,543: Price, Broad Metals PPI and Trade Context

A copper benchmark, a broad primary-metals PPI and nominal import values provide distinct observations. They do not independently establish an electrification squeeze or the price of fabricated copper.

The global copper benchmark is $13,543/tonne (Jul 2026), up about 38.6% from a year ago, and sits 100% of the distance between its archived low and high. That is a price observation, not a diagnosis of the cause. The accompanying PPI is BLS WPU1022, Primary Nonferrous Metals, which this page previously mislabeled as copper and brass mill shapes. It covers a broader primary-metals population and cannot establish copper-specific demand, a fabrication premium or the timing of a price reversal.

Primary metals are not a fabricated-copper price

WPU1022 reads 544.73 index (1982=100) (Aug 2026), up about 49.3% from a year ago. It is a broad primary nonferrous metals index, not a price series for copper wire, tube, bar or brass fabrication. Its difference from a global copper quote does not measure conversion cost or an alloying premium, and their index-point and price-per-tonne levels cannot be subtracted meaningfully. A buyer needs a matched product price, specification, unit and date to estimate the cost of fabricated copper.

Global copper price, Jul 2026 (IMF via FRED): $13,543/tonne. 100% of the distance from the archived low of $1,377 in Oct 2001 to the high of $13,552 in Jun 2026.

Import customs value as supporting context

Copper import customs value, currently $3.74B/month (Jul 2026), up about 16.2% from a year ago, adds nominal trade context. It is not physical volume or an availability measure, and pairing it with price does not reveal whether the market is being fed or starved: price, quantity, copper form, origin, inventory, and timing can all move the total. Use form-level quantities, unit values, stocks, lead times, and supplier evidence before calling the move demand-led tightness or supply friction.

A copper price, a broad primary-metals index and import values are distinct observations. A causal explanation needs evidence that matches the product and period.

How copper got here

Over the 35-year record copper has moved decisively rather than oscillated: from $2,212 at the close of 1992 to $13,543 today, up 512%, and now at the top of its 35-year range. A change of that size across a span this long is a level shift, not a cycle, and planning that assumes a return to the 1992 figure is planning against the whole record.

Use the metal surcharge impact calculator to convert a copper benchmark move into the surcharge your quotes should carry. Model the swing

Published 2026-08-05.