Copper Price in 2012
In 2012, the price of copper averaged $3.61 per pound, down 9.8% from the year before. This page covers the 2012 average, high, low, and year-end close, the events that moved the market, and what that copper would be worth in today's dollars.
2012 Average
$3.61
LME/COMEX annual average, USD/lb
Change vs 2011
-9.8%
from $4.00 in 2011
2012 High
$3.99
from daily trading data
2012 Low
$3.24
from daily trading data
Year-End Close
$3.65
last trading day of 2012
What happened to the copper price in 2012
Copper averaged $3.61 per pound in 2012, down 9.8% from $4.00 the year before. Daily trading data shows copper moved between a low of $3.24 and a high of $3.99 during the year, ending 2012 at $3.65.
The 2010s opened at record highs near $4.65 a pound in 2011, then ground lower for years as Chinese growth slowed, commodities sold off, and US-China trade tensions weighed on sentiment, before a late-decade stabilization.
Adjusted for inflation, copper's 2012 average of $3.61 equals about $5.07 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 2012?
What is a 2012 copper price worth in today's dollars?
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.