Copper price
Why cable has no fixed price
Copper is traded per tonne on the London Metal Exchange and the price moves every day. In most cables the copper content is the largest part of the cost. That is why we prepare a current price for every enquiry, with a clear validity period.
- The indication follows the LME cash settlement of the previous trading day, in euro per tonne. The COMEX futures contract and the IMF monthly average serve as back-up sources; the source used is shown with the price.
- Delayed: one price per trading day. Meant to show the direction, not for calculations.
What the copper price does to a cable price
The thicker the cable, the more copper per metre. When the copper price moves by several hundred euros per tonne, the cable price shifts noticeably from week to week. On large cross-sections the effect is even greater: there copper is by far the largest cost item, which is exactly why network operators lay aluminium over long routes.
What we fix in a quote
Every quote states the validity and the basis on which the price was calculated. For project deliveries we usually fix a price for the duration of the project, so you do not get a new price every week. For long durations we agree up front how we handle large copper movements.
Copper or aluminium
On large cross-sections and long routes aluminium is often the better choice: a conductor that, even at over one and a half times the cross-section, weighs only about half as much and costs a fraction of a copper one. The joints do have to be suitable for aluminium; our article Copper or aluminium conductors explains how. With the length, the load and the voltage level we calculate both variants for you.