As of June 20, 2024, copper futures contracts to be settled in July 2029 were trading on U.S. markets at around 4.5 U.S. dollars per pound. This is higher than the price of 3.92 U.S. dollars per pound for contracts to be settled in January 2024, indicating that copper traders expect the price of copper to fluctuate. Copper futures are contracts that effectively lock in a price for an amount of copper to be purchased at a time in the future, which can then be traded on markets. Futures markets therefore provide an indicator of how investors think a commodities market will develop in the future.