Summary
- The benchmark doubled. The World Bank's annual average LME copper price rose from $4,868 per tonne in 2016 to $9,947 in 2025, with a pause between 2021 ($9,317) and 2023 ($8,490).
- Refined copper is imported near the LME price. China, South Korea, Germany, the United States, Italy and Turkey declared between 97% and 104% of the annual LME average in every year that passed the checks.
- China's concentrate imports grew by about three quarters, from 17.3 million tonnes in 2017 to 30.4 million tonnes in 2025, with the average declared price rising from $1,552 to $2,696 per tonne of concentrate.
- China's declared value per tonne of concentrate was 25% to 27% of the LME price per tonne in 2017 to 2025. This is a ratio, not a payable rate.
- Origin matters for concentrate. In 2025 China declared $4,226 per tonne for DR Congo concentrate and $3,905 for Indonesian, against $2,657 for Peruvian, $2,580 for Chilean and $2,380 for Kazakh. The customs data does not show grade.
- The annual benchmark treatment charge fell from $97.35 per tonne for 2016 to $21.25 for 2025, and was reported at $0 for 2026.
Concentrate is sold on payable copper net of treatment and refining charges, so a customs price per tonne of concentrate is not a copper price. The report explains this and the other limits.
What is in the full report
5 pages, as a PDF.
- The LME benchmark for 2016 to 2025 and the annual benchmark treatment charge, with year-on-year changes and a chart
- What USGS says moved the price in each year it explains
- Refined copper import prices for seven importers, and each as a share of LME
- Concentrate import prices and quantities for China, Japan, India, South Korea, Germany and Spain
- China's concentrate price by supplier: Chile, Peru, Mexico, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, DR Congo and Indonesia
- The data limits and which figures were excluded, and why