Copper (HG) March (H) contract study: year-by-year results, the day-by-day shape of the move and where highs and lows printed.
Contract Almanac · Copper (COMEX)
Every March copper contract 2011–2026, measured over its tenure as the lead contract · Typically leads Nov 27 – Feb 24
The March contract is copper’s monster: 13 of 16 tenures higher, 81%, the best win rate of any seat on any board we cover. It holds the metal from early December through late February, the window where China restocks, Q1 growth hope gets priced, and the year’s optimism is cheapest to own. Copper’s whole seasonal reputation, it turns out, lives in one seat.
Each year is one contract, measured from the open of the day it took over the lead to the close of the day it handed off, the same roll convention used across all Traders Brief research. A copper contract holds the lead for roughly two months, and the March and December contracts closer to three, so tenures run 40 to 70 trading days, far longer than an energy tenure — these are seats, not months, and the day counts read accordingly. All highs and lows are the contract’s own trades, marked by trading day of the tenure, not calendar day.