Hong Kong stock market concept tracking | LME inventory nearly empty, Mokerui exposed to large copper withdrawals (including concept stocks)

Global commodity trading giant Mercuria Energy Group Ltd. is accelerating copper hoarding to cope with potential US tariffs causing global supply shortages. Sources revealed that the company has applied to withdraw about 50,000 tons of copper from warehouses regulated by the London Metal Exchange (LME), marking the largest withdrawal in over a decade and driving copper prices to a historical high of $11,500 per ton. Commodity trading giant Mercuria has notified its plans to withdraw a significant amount of copper from LME's Asian warehouses. Four sources disclosed that Mercuria canceled warrants on December 2nd to withdraw over 40,000 tons of copper metal stored in LME's Asian warehouses. At current prices, the value of this copper batch is approximately $460 million. Data from LME on that day also showed a dramatic increase in copper withdrawal applications from warehouses, with a surge of 50,575 tons (the largest increase since 2013) to reach 56,875 tons, accounting for 35% of LME's total inventory. Mercuria's actions further pushed the premium of spot copper contracts over three-month futures prices to rise. Analysts believe that most of the copper leaving the LME system is being shipped to the US. Previously, the Trump administration granted exemptions on refined copper tariffs. However, the US included copper as a critical mineral under the Defense Production Act, aiming to safeguard its own copper supply. It is worth noting that most of the copper in LME stockpiles comes from China and Russia, metals that cannot be used for delivery in New York Mercantile Exchange contracts. Therefore, traders are withdrawing copper from LME to redirect more deliverable metals to the US. Just on Thursday, traders added another 7,450 tons of withdrawals. A report by Goldman Sachs released on Wednesday indicated that communication with spot traders suggests that copper shipments to the US in the first half of 2026 will "restart faster than expected." The surge in copper prices that day was primarily driven by LME withdrawals, which could lead to more metal flowing to the US. As global traders rush to ship copper to the US and exchange inventories continue to decline, momentum for copper price breakthroughs is building, suggesting that the long-awaited super cycle may finally be underway. Copper-related Hong Kong-listed companies include: Copper mines: CMOC Group Limited (03993), Zijin Mining Group (02899), MMG (01208), Jiangxi Copper (00358), CHINFMINING (01258), Metallurgical Corporation of China (01618) Copper foil: KB LAMINATES (01888), KINGBOARD HLDG (00148)