Every copper grade priced in EUR per , updated daily from exchange settlements and this market's own level.
Copper scrap in France is worth €3.30 to €11.81 per kg today, depending on grade. Bare Bright Copper sits at the top of the board and communication wire at the bottom, a spread of about 3.6 times. Prices are quoted in EUR per kg and move daily with the exchange settlement.
Yards grade copper by cleanliness, coating and gauge. The spread from the top grade to the bottom runs 25 to 35 percent, so identifying what you hold matters more than the day you sell.
Converted from the exchange settlement at this market's rate and level. Indicative reference prices, not offers. Aluminium, brass and steel prices in France.
French dealers quote non-ferrous scrap in euros per kilogram and ferrous scrap per tonne, often with published grade lists for copper (cuivre), brass (laiton), aluminium and lead (plomb). Prices for professional sellers are quoted before VAT.
Against the global reference: French prices match the European LME-based level and depend on export demand for ferrous grades.
Grade names travel less well than the metal does. Whatever a local merchant calls it, the specification behind each grade is the same one used on export contracts, which is why the ReMA code appears on every card above.
The board above is the national indicative level. City yards trade around it rather than exactly on it, because local competition, freight to the nearest consumer and export demand all move the spread. Two quotes in the same city can differ by several percent on the same morning.
Paris and its surrounding department generate renovation scrap on a large scale and process almost none of it. Copper leaves the region for processors elsewhere in France or for export, and that freight sits inside every quote.
Copper that moves here: Plumbing copper and building wire from renovation; Zinc and copper roofing from Haussmann-era buildings.
Lyon anchors France's second industrial region, with chemicals, engineering and logistics feeding a steadier flow of industrial copper than the capital produces.
Copper that moves here: Copper tube from HVAC and process pipework.
Marseille is France's main Mediterranean port, which gives mixed and lower grades an export route that inland cities lack. That outlet tends to firm up prices for material that would otherwise struggle to find a buyer.
Copper that moves here: Mixed non-ferrous and irony copper for export; Insulated wire in container volumes.
France banned cash payment for scrap metal entirely: every purchase must be paid by cheque, bank transfer or card, whatever the amount, and dealers must record the seller's identity. Selling scrap for cash is an offence for both parties.
Copper attracts more scrutiny than any other scrap metal because it is the most stolen. A yard that asks for identification is following the law; one that does not is the greater risk to you, since a load with no paper trail is the load a buyer can dispute later.
France has a large collection network but limited domestic melting capacity outside the Dunkirk and Fos steelworks and a handful of foundries, so a large share of French scrap is exported to Spain, Italy, Germany and Turkey. Non-ferrous prices follow the LME in euros; ferrous prices track Mediterranean export demand.
The Paris region, Lyon and the northern industrial belt have the densest networks of dealers and the most competitive prices; rural sellers often sell to itinerant collectors at a discount.
Copper sits differently in that picture from the ferrous grades. It is worth enough per kilogram to travel, so a merchant a long way from a refinery can still pay close to the reference by shipping to one. That is why the spread between the best and worst copper quote in a country is usually narrower than the spread on steel, where freight eats the margin.
Grade decides more of your payment than timing does. Four checks settle almost every load.
Sorting into separate piles before you weigh is the highest-paid work in this trade. A mixed load is graded at the lowest grade present, so one soldered joint in a clean pile can regrade the lot.
| Currency | Euro (EUR) |
|---|---|
| Price units | Per kg for non-ferrous, per tonne for ferrous |
| Benchmarks | LME prices in euros, Mediterranean ferrous export bids |
| Main hubs | Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Fos, Dunkirk, Lille |
| Trade position | Net exporter of ferrous scrap |
Between €3.30 and €11.81 per kg depending on grade, quoted in EUR. The board above shows every grade, updated daily.
Because they have different outlets. A merchant who can sell straight to a refinery pays closer to the reference than one who has to ship material onward, and both build their freight into the quote. Local competition does the rest, which is why calling two or three merchants is worth more than picking the day.
Bare Bright Copper, at €11.81 per kg today. It is the strictest grade on the board: clean, uncoated, unalloyed wire of heavier gauge, with no oxidation and no attachments.
Above roughly 48 percent copper recovery, usually yes. Below it, usually not. Thick building cable strips quickly and pays; thin communication cable does not. Burning insulation is never the answer: it is unlawful in most jurisdictions and it downgrades the copper rather than improving it.
Yes, though less than most sellers expect. The board on this page is the national indicative level and city yards trade around it. What moves a local quote is how many buyers can economically reach you, how far the material has to travel to a consumer, and whether there is an export outlet nearby.
Daily. Copper settles on the exchange every business day and every scrap grade moves with it, because each grade is priced as a share of the refined metal price rather than set independently.
$6.22 / lb
C$8.34 / lb
£9.74 / kg
A$18.08 / kg
€12.04 / kg
€12.16 / kg
€11.81 / kg
€11.81 / kg
€11.93 / kg
CN¥90.30 / kg
¥2,077 / kg
₩18,096 / kg
₹1,193 / kg
৳1,483 / kg
Rs 3,274 / kg
AED 47.84 / kg
SAR 47.82 / kg
₺691.10 / kg
R 186.00 / kg