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CommodityPriceAPIPowered by APIFreaks

Copper Price API — XCU

Copper price API spot and COMEX futures, every second.

Live copper prices for your app — a continuous spot price and the COMEX front-month futures, each with bid and ask, in US dollars per pound or any of 150+ currencies.

Get your API keyRead the docsLive copper chart
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  • JSON over HTTPS
GET
Sample responseapplication/json
{
  "success": true,
  "timestamp": 1792185351,
  "rates": {
    "XCU-SPOT": {
      "rate": 6.63,
      "bid": 6.62,
      "ask": 6.63
    }
  },
  "metadata": {
    "XCU-SPOT": {
      "unit": "lb",
      "quote": "USD"
    }
  }
}
2
Copper symbols
1s
Refresh, every plan
Bid/Ask
Spot and futures
1990
History from

Pounds to tonnes

Quoted per pound, traded per tonne.

COMEX quotes copper in cents per pound; LME and most physical contracts use metric tonnes. The API returns USD per pound — here is the same live price at every scale.

  1. Per pound

    6.630

    USD/lb

    API returns this

  2. Per kilogram

    14.617

    USD/kg

    × 2.20462

  3. Per metric tonne

    14,617

    USD/t

    × 1,000

XCU-FUT − XCU-SPOT −0.0600 USD/lb

Futures below spot — backwardation

Spot 6.6300 USD/lb · refreshed hourly on this page

Symbols

Pick the symbol you need

SymbolWhat it tracksUnitBid / askChart
XCU-SPOTCopper — continuous cash (spot) priceUSD per poundYesLive chart →
XCU-FUTCopper — COMEX front-month futures, continuousUSD per poundYesLive chart →

What's included

Everything you need to build with copper.

  1. 01

    Second-by-second prices

    XCU-SPOT and XCU-FUT are polled every second. Every current plan reads the newest tick; only the legacy Lite plan reads a snapshot up to 10 minutes old.

  2. 02

    Bid and ask on every call

    Every response carries the latest rate plus bid and ask, so quotes and spreads come from the same call.

  3. 03

    Spot and COMEX futures

    A smooth, continuous spot price for displays and calculators, and the COMEX front-month futures when you need to match exchange quotes.

  4. 04

    150+ currencies

    Add quote=CLP, quote=ZAR or any supported currency and the API converts the per-pound price for you.

  5. 05

    History back to 1990

    Daily copper history through the historical, time-series and fluctuation endpoints, with the same symbols and key.

  6. 06

    Plain REST and JSON

    One GET request, one x-api-key header, predictable JSON. Works from any language or a spreadsheet — no SDK required.

Spot

Copper spot price API

/v3/rates/latest/XCU-SPOT returns a continuous copper cash price in US dollars per pound, with bid and ask. It has no expiry date, so it moves smoothly — the right choice for price displays, scrap and recycling calculators, cost estimates and alerts.

XCU is the code most data vendors use for copper; it is not an ISO currency code the way XAU or XPT are. Older integrations that still send HG-SPOT to /rates/latest keep working, but new code should use XCU-SPOT.

Futures

COMEX copper futures API

/v3/rates/latest/XCU-FUT follows the front-month COMEX copper futures contract on a continuous basis. COMEX copper trades in 25,000-pound lots and is quoted in US dollars per pound, so XCU-FUT is the series to use when your numbers need to line up with futures quotes or hedging reports.

Spot and futures are usually close; the gap reflects time to delivery. Pick one per series and don't mix them in a single chart. Both are derived market prices — not exchange settlement prices, and not a direct feed from COMEX.

Units

Per pound, per kilo, per tonne

Both copper symbols are quoted per pound, the COMEX convention. Converting is one multiplication:

  • Per kilogram: multiply by 2.20462.
  • Per metric tonne: multiply by 2,204.62.

LME copper is quoted in US dollars per tonne. Converting our per-pound price puts it on the same unit, but COMEX and LME are separate markets and their prices differ. For copper value in a local currency and weight, try the copper price calculator.

Market

Why developers track copper

Copper goes into wiring, buildings, motors and power grids, which is why its price is read as a gauge of industrial demand. In the US, building construction takes about 42% of copper use, electrical and electronic products 23% and transport equipment 18% (USGS).

Supply is concentrated: of roughly 23 million tonnes mined in 2025, Chile produced about 5.3 million, followed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Peru. Mine disruptions in a handful of countries can move the price quickly — one reason apps that depend on copper costs refresh often.

Use cases

What developers build with copper prices

  1. 01

    Scrap and recycling apps

    Price scrap copper by weight in the user's currency, with the spot rate as the reference and your own margin on top.

  2. 02

    Quotes for cable and components

    Electrical contractors and manufacturers re-price wire, cable and parts as copper moves, instead of using last month's sheet.

  3. 03

    Cost models and indexation

    Feed copper into ERP, procurement and contract-indexation formulas that need a timestamped, auditable price.

  4. 04

    Market dashboards and alerts

    Show spot and COMEX futures side by side, or alert when copper crosses a level — on the per-second feed on paid plans.

API reference

Latest copper price

Returns the latest copper price — continuous spot or COMEX front-month futures — with bid and ask, in USD per pound unless you ask for another currency.

Endpoint

GEThttps://api.commoditypriceapi.com/v3/rates/latest/{symbol}
Available on every plan, refreshed every second. Standard, Advanced and Enterprise can quote it in any supported currency; on Basic rates are in USD and quote is ignored. On the legacy Lite plan rates are in USD and may be up to 10 minutes old.

Authentication

x-api-keyheader · stringrequired
Your API key, sent as a request header. Find it in your dashboard.

Path parameter

symbolstringrequired
One symbol per request. This page covers XCU-SPOT and XCU-FUT. The same endpoint also serves XAU, XAG, XPT, XPD, WTIOIL-SPOT, WTIOIL-FUT, BRENTOIL-SPOT and BRENTOIL-FUT; every other commodity is on /rates/latest.

Query parameters

quotestringoptionalStandard & above
Currency to convert the rate into, e.g. EUR or INR. Defaults to the symbol's native currency (USD). Supported currencies.
metadatabooleanoptional
Include the metadata object (unit and quote currency). Defaults to true; pass false for a smaller payload.

Response fields

successboolean
true on a 200 response.
timestampnumber
Unix time (seconds) when the response was generated.
rates.XCU-SPOTobject
rate (latest price), bid and ask, in USD per pound.
metadata.XCU-SPOTobject
unit (lb) and quote currency of the returned rate.

Status codes

200—Rate returned.
400VALIDATION_ERRORSymbol not served by this endpoint, or include value not valid for the symbol.
401UNAUTHORIZEDMissing or invalid x-api-key.
403LIMIT_REACHEDMonthly request quota used up.
404SYMBOL_NOT_FOUND / QUOTEUnknown symbol (with suggestions) or unsupported quote currency.
429TOO_MANY_REQUESTSPer-minute rate limit hit (legacy Lite plan).

Full list in the error reference. History lives on /rates/historical and /rates/time-series.

Example

$ curl https://api.commoditypriceapi.com/v3/rates/latest/XCU-SPOT \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -G -d "quote=USD"

Sample values. Run the playground above for a live response.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Contact support
  • 01

    Which copper prices does the API cover?

    Two symbols: XCU-SPOT, a continuous copper cash price, and XCU-FUT, which follows the front-month COMEX copper futures contract on a continuous basis. Both are quoted in US dollars per pound and include bid and ask.

  • 02

    How often is the copper price updated?

    Both copper symbols are polled every second. On every current plan, from Basic to Enterprise, each request returns the newest price; only on the legacy Lite plan can it be up to 10 minutes old.

  • 03

    How do I get the copper price per kilogram or per tonne?

    Multiply the per-pound price by 2.20462 for a kilogram, or by 2,204.62 for a metric tonne. The API returns copper per pound, the COMEX convention.

  • 04

    Is this the LME copper price?

    No. XCU-FUT follows COMEX copper futures, and XCU-SPOT is a continuous cash price. LME copper is a separate market quoted in US dollars per tonne; converting our price to tonnes puts it on the same unit, but the two markets' prices differ.

  • 05

    What is the difference between XCU-SPOT and XCU-FUT?

    XCU-SPOT has no expiry date, so it moves smoothly and suits displays and calculators. XCU-FUT tracks the front-month COMEX contract and suits anything that must match futures quotes. They are usually close; the gap reflects time to delivery.

  • 06

    Can I get the copper price in other currencies?

    Yes. On the Standard plan or above, add the quote parameter, for example quote=EUR or quote=PKR, and the API converts the per-pound price. More than 150 currencies are supported.

  • 07

    Is there a free copper price API?

    You can start with an unlimited free trial for integrations on the Basic plan — no credit card required. Every plan includes the copper symbols; Basic returns USD prices, and conversion to other currencies starts on the Standard plan.

  • 08

    Do the old HG-SPOT and HG-FUT symbols still work?

    Yes. Copper was renamed from HG to XCU. Requests that still send HG-SPOT or HG-FUT to /rates/latest are answered with the XCU rate, but new integrations should use XCU-SPOT and XCU-FUT.

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Start with an unlimited free trial for integrations on the Basic plan — no credit card. Upgrade when you need other currencies and the time-series, fluctuation and intraday endpoints.

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