Copper

Learn more about copper and view copper price charts

Copper is one of the most commonly used of the base metals, and when in high demand, copper is a reliable indicator of our economic health. But its importance isn’t confined to electrical wires and thermal conductors.

Copper also plays a vital role in the rise of renewable energies and the production of electric vehicles, helping us transition to a low-carbon economy.

Our team of experts provides global and local data-driven insights, prices, forecasts and market news to help you make sense of the forces influencing the copper market. Our expert analysis provides critical insights to help you predict future trends for win-win outcomes in your contract negotiations.
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Inform your base metals strategy with metals price forecasts and analysis for the global base metals industry

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    • Copper import arbitrage, $/tonne
    • Copper grade A cathode premium, cif Rotterdam, $/tonne
    • Copper grade A cathode premium, delivered Germany, $/tonne
    • Copper grade A cathode warrant premium, in-whs Southeast Asia, $/tonne
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    Market-reflective copper price data spanning the copper supply chain, from copper concentrates and copper wire to copper scrap

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    Featured report

    What’s ahead in the copper market? 

    As copper prices reach record highs and analysts warn of ‘unsustainable deficits’, we explore the key trends shaping the copper market:

    • How copper demand growth is being spurred by the energy transition
    • Copper production forecasts and the struggle to keep up with demand
    • Copper recycling and predictions for the future
    • Data on forecast copper deficit
    • The emerging challenges for copper smelters
    • Whether current copper trends can be sustained

    Acess the full report here

    What’s happening in the copper market?

    Over a decade since its first attempt, Glencore appears to have taken another tilt at Rio Tinto.

    Participants in the market for copper scrap and blister in China, the world’s largest importer of copper raw materials, expect there to be fiercer competition for material in 2025, industry sources told Fastmarkets in the week to Thursday January 9.

    Africa’s first transcontinental rail network, known as the Lobito Corridor, which aims to eventually connect almost the entire regional copper-cobalt belt with additional links across sub-Saharan Africa, is on track to break ground early in 2026, a senior official at the US Department of State told Fastmarkets.

    The availability of relatively untapped resources, a huge influx of Chinese investment and a rapid licensing system have helped the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to become one of the world’s three key producers of copper.

    There has been a freefall in copper concentrates treatment and refining charges (TC/RCs) this year amid tighter supply in the market. In 2025, supply tightness is projected to keep copper concentrates TC/RCs low on average for the whole year, sources told Fastmarkets.

    Unlike most other commodities, cobalt is primarily a by-product – with 60% derived from copper and 38% from nickel – so how will changes in those markets change the picture for cobalt in the coming months following a year of price weakness and oversupply in 2024?

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