The chief executive of German copper manufacturer Aurubis anticipates that enormous copper inventories currently held in United States commodity warehouses will decline over the next several months due to increasing domestic demand.
US Comex warehouses currently hold 532,000 metric tons of copper – representing nearly 25% of America’s yearly consumption – after traders relocated the metal to the United States in 2023 in anticipation of potential tariffs.
These inventory levels have remained relatively stable since reaching a peak of approximately 546,000 tons in February, with shipping opportunities to Comex reopening just last week.
“I think it’s a security of supply issue,” stated Aurubis Chief Executive Toralf Haag. “But in my opinion, the stocks will decrease over the next months through strong local demand.”
Speaking from the World Copper Conference in Santiago on Tuesday, Haag chose not to provide projections for where inventory levels might stand by the conclusion of 2026.
During his conference interview, Haag revealed that Aurubis plans to complete the second phase of its Richmond, Georgia recycling facility by September’s end. This expansion will add 90,000 tons of annual capacity.
The company’s decision regarding future expansion – whether to enlarge the existing Georgia plant, construct a new recycling facility elsewhere in America, or build a primary copper smelter – has been postponed from this summer to likely occur before 2026 concludes, according to Haag.
Aurubis has experienced “certain downturn” from clients due to conflicts involving Iran and has observed reduced demand from Germany’s struggling automobile industry, though other sectors including power and construction are offsetting these losses, Haag explained.
He identified data centers as a “big additional demand driver for copper,” calculating that each of 1,000 planned global data centers will require between 20,000 and 30,000 tons of copper.
The company is also experiencing increased demand for sulfuric acid as ongoing conflicts create supply shortages. Aurubis manufactures 2 million tons annually of this chemical at facilities in Hamburg and Bulgaria.
“We are getting enquiries from all around the world and also from players we haven’t done business with before,” Haag noted, explaining that existing long-term contracts mean Aurubis only partially benefits from rising acid prices and maintains limited availability for immediate sales.
