The Core Specifications
- Symbol: HG, traded on COMEX.
- Contract size: 25,000 pounds of copper.
- Quote: US cents per pound — a quote of 450.00 means $4.50 per pound.
- Minimum tick: $0.0005 per pound, worth $12.50 per contract.
- Contract months: monthly listings, with the nearby active months carrying most of the volume.
- Hours: nearly 24 hours on weekdays, like the other COMEX metals.
- Settlement: physically deliverable against exchange-approved warehouse stocks.
What the Specs Mean in Dollars
At $4.50 per pound, one HG contract represents about $112,500 worth of copper. A one-cent move in the price is $250 per contract; a ten-cent move is $2,500. Margin — the deposit required to hold the position — is a small fraction of the contract value and changes with volatility, so check current rates before trading.
Delivery is possible on HG, which is how commercial hedgers use it, but nearly all speculative positions are closed or rolled to the next active month before the delivery period begins. Your broker will notify you if a position gets close to first notice day.
Why Specs Matter Before You Trade
Tick value, contract size, and hours are not trivia — they define your risk. Knowing that one cent is $250 tells you what a ten-cent copper swing does to your account before you learn it the expensive way. Match the contract to your account size, and remember that copper's industrial cycles produce trends and reversals of real size.
Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors. Full details live on the contract specifications page, and a broker can confirm current margins and the active contract month.
A few details traders ask about next. Price limits can apply in extreme moves, temporarily restricting trade — worth knowing before a chaotic session, not during one. The contract is graded against exchange-approved brands and warehouses, which is what makes delivery uniform and the price trustworthy as a benchmark. And because the contract is deliverable, the futures price converges toward the physical market as expiry approaches. For pure speculators the takeaway is simple: trade the active month, exit before the delivery window, and let the commercials handle the copper.
Specs like these are worth reviewing before any first trade in a new market. Five minutes with the contract details beats discovering the tick value and delivery rules after your money is already at risk.