Copper Metal DNA™
· Atomic #29 · ₹1,264.53/kg today
Nicknamed "Dr. Copper" by traders for its habit of diagnosing the health of the global economy before the official data catches up — wire it into a wall, a motor, or a grid, and demand barely ever stops.
Copper DNA Profile
Each dimension below is either computed live from data this site already tracks, or a manually researched figure with its own source — see how these are calculated.
How is this calculated?
Computed from the 30-day price change already stored in this site's own price history: score = 50 + (30-day % change × 2), clamped to 0–100. A metal flat over 30 days scores 50; every 1% of 30-day move shifts the score 2 points either way.
How is this calculated?
The standard deviation of daily % price changes over the last 10 trading days, scaled ×20 and clamped to 0–100. A purely descriptive measure of recent swing size, not a positive or negative signal on its own.
How is this calculated?
The single largest producing country's share of reported global production (excluding the "Other countries" residual bucket), taken directly from the USGS-sourced figures already powering /metal-reserves. Higher = more concentrated in one country.
How is this calculated?
Summed reported reserves ÷ summed reported annual production, across only the countries USGS reports both figures for (same commodity, same units — never summed across commodities). Scaled: 40+ years of reserve life scores 100, scaled down linearly below that.
How is this calculated?
Manually researched from each metal's primary industry association (see each metal's Sources section) — not computed. Scored as 100 minus the largest single demand sector's share of total demand, so a metal with no single dominant buyer group scores higher than one dependent on one sector.
Source: International Copper Study Group, World Copper Factbook — view
Scientific Identity
- Symbol
- Cu
- Atomic Number
- 29
- Category
- Industrial Metals
Source: IUPAC Periodic Table of the Elements. Further physical/chemical properties (density, melting point, electron configuration) are planned for a future update — not shown until individually verified per metal.
The Wiring Metal Behind the Energy Transition
Electric vehicles use several times more copper than a comparable petrol car, and wind and solar installations need copper cabling at a scale traditional power generation never did — the shift toward electrification is, in a very literal sense, a shift toward buying more copper.
China Alone Moves the Price
China consumes roughly half the world's copper, which means the Shanghai-London price spread — the gap between SHFE and LME copper — functions as one of the most closely watched live readouts of Chinese industrial activity anywhere in financial markets.
The Metal That Never Wears Out
Copper can be recycled indefinitely without losing any of its electrical or physical properties, and recycled ("secondary") copper already supplies a meaningful share of global demand at a fraction of the energy cost of mining and refining new ore — one of the more genuinely circular supply chains among the metals tracked here, and a real buffer against how concentrated primary mine supply is.
Supply Snapshot
Real, USGS-sourced production shares — the same data behind this metal's Geographic Concentration score above. Full breakdown: Metal Reserves →
Demand Mix
Sourced from International Copper Study Group, World Copper Factbook (2024 data) — view source.
Did You Know?
None of the world's true top-tier copper producers (Chile and Peru dominate that list) are among this site's 22 tracked countries — a reminder that where copper is priced and where it's mined aren't always the same map.
Frequently Asked Questions
Copper Metal DNA™ is MetalsCost's intelligence profile combining scientific identity with market, supply and demand indicators — each indicator is either computed from this site's own stored price and reserves data, or a manually researched, cited figure. See the methodology page for exactly how.
Copper's overall score of 50/100 is a simple average of the individual dimensions currently scored for it below — click any dimension's "Why?" for its exact formula and source.
China accounts for 48.3% of global copper production, per USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries — see the full production breakdown.
The Copper price in India today is ₹1,264.53 per kilogram as of August 28, 2026. See the live price and chart.
MetalsCost Metal DNA™ is an informational and analytical indicator. It is not investment advice, a price target, or a recommendation to buy or sell any commodity or financial instrument. See the methodology page for data sources and calculation details.
