Trafigura Group just walked out of London Metal Exchange warehouses with more than 51,000 tons of copper, worth over $700 million. It’s the largest single-day copper withdrawal from the LME in over a decade, and it left exchange inventories at levels not seen since Richard Nixon was in the White House.
The commodities trading giant pulled the metal primarily from warehouses in the US and Asia, chasing what it described as trading opportunities in the American and Chinese markets. At roughly $13,660 per ton, this wasn’t a casual shopping trip. It was a strategic land grab on one of the most important industrial metals on the planet.
What happened and why it matters
The withdrawal on May 22 represents the biggest single-day copper delivery from the LME since 2013.
A US tariff ruling on copper is expected in late June 2026, and traders have been scrambling to position inventory on both sides of the Atlantic ahead of whatever policy changes emerge.
