Every copper grade priced in GBP per , updated daily from exchange settlements and this market's own level.
Copper scrap in United Kingdom is worth £2.72 to £9.74 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 GBP 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 United Kingdom.
UK merchants quote non-ferrous scrap in pounds per kilogram (larger lots per tonne) and ferrous scrap in pounds per tonne. British grade names differ from US ones: dry bright copper, number 1 and number 2 copper, braziery copper, and for steel, OA plate and girders, 5A/5C shredded and 12A/12C bales and cuttings.
Against the global reference: UK non-ferrous prices track the LME in pounds and sit a little below US levels; ferrous prices depend on export demand from Turkey.
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.
London scrap prices follow the LME in pounds: copper, brass and aluminium per kilogram, ferrous per tonne. Payment is cashless by law at every licensed merchant, with photo ID and proof of address required. Yards cluster in Edmonton and the Lea Valley, Barking and the east, and Park Royal in the west.
Copper that moves here: Dry bright and number 1 copper from rewires and plumbing.
Birmingham scrap prices are among the most competitive in Britain because the city and the Black Country hold more independent merchants per mile than anywhere else, a legacy of the metal trades. Copper and brass are the local strength; payment is cashless by law with photo ID and proof of address.
Copper that moves here: Dry bright and number 1 copper from the trades.
Manchester scrap prices track the LME in pounds, with merchants concentrated around Trafford Park, Salford and the eastern industrial ring. Ferrous moves to north-west processors and out through the ports. Payment is cashless by law: photo ID, proof of address, bank transfer or cheque.
Copper that moves here: Copper and brass from rewires and plumbing, graded finely.
Glasgow scrap prices follow the LME in pounds, with merchants along the Clyde and through the Lanarkshire belt. Scotland licenses dealers separately but the practical rules match England: no cash, photo ID recorded, payment by transfer or cheque. Copper, lead and stainless are the local staples.
Copper that moves here: Copper and lead from tenement roofing and rewires.
The Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 applies in England and Wales, with similar rules in Scotland. Dealers must be licensed by their local council, must verify the seller's name and address with photo ID and proof of address, and cannot pay cash for any scrap metal; payment is by bank transfer or cheque only.
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.
The United Kingdom is home to the London Metal Exchange, so UK scrap prices are quoted straight off the LME copper, aluminium, lead, zinc and nickel settlements converted into pounds. The country produces far more ferrous scrap than its remaining steelworks consume, which makes it one of the world's largest ferrous exporters, mostly to Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India through Liverpool, Tilbury and Cardiff.
Large national merchants set the tone for prices, with independent yards in the Midlands, the North West and central Scotland competing on grade and convenience. Non-ferrous prices are close to LME across the country; ferrous prices swing with Turkish import bids and with the pound.
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 | Pound sterling (GBP) |
|---|---|
| Price units | Per kg for non-ferrous, per tonne for ferrous |
| Benchmarks | LME settlement prices in London |
| Main hubs | London, Birmingham and the Midlands, Manchester, Glasgow, Liverpool docks |
| Trade position | Large net exporter of ferrous scrap |
Between £2.72 and £9.74 per kg depending on grade, quoted in GBP. 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 £9.74 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
A$18.08 / kg
€12.04 / kg
€11.81 / 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