Market Wire

Copper and Primary Nonferrous Metals Prices: Different Source Populations

Correction (2026-09-14): This article originally called the series Copper and Brass Mill Prices. BLS series WPU1022 measures primary nonferrous metals, not that previously stated category. Labels and purchasing scope have been corrected. The original publication date, observation periods, values, and URL are preserved. Any cost example is hypothetical index tracking, not a measured purchasing bill.

Copper at $13,552 a tonne and Primary Nonferrous Metals Prices at 557.2 moved in opposite directions in 2 of the last four months, against a 0.51 correlation across 13 months of shared history. These series cover different product populations; their divergence does not measure a fabricator margin or a downstream processing spread.

Copper: $13,552 a tonne (+0.5% on the month)
Primary Nonferrous Metals Prices: 557.2 (-0.4% on the month)

The disagreeing months: March 2026 (Copper down 3.3%, Primary Nonferrous Metals Prices up 3.3%); June 2026 (Copper up 0.5%, Primary Nonferrous Metals Prices down 0.4%). Measured on month-over-month percent changes, these describe historical co-movement, not a causal relationship or a measured margin.

The earlier interpretation as a squeeze on fabricator margins is withdrawn. Primary nonferrous metals is a broad product population, not a copper-and-brass mill-products series. The observed correlation cannot identify processing costs, pricing power, or the timing of a subsequent price move. Those questions require matched product, quantity, contract, and cost evidence.

Sources: IMF global price via FRED; BLS Producer Price Index.

Published 2026-08-07.