Trafigura: AI Data Center Buildout Could Triple Copper Demand to 3 Million Tons by 2028

Hyperscaler spending plans imply copper demand from AI infrastructure could reach 2.5 million to 3 million metric tons in 2028, up from about 1 million tons estimated for this year, Trafigura's head of industrial metals analysis Henry Van said at Bloomberg's 2026 Base Metals event in London. Van cautioned that the 2028 figure is not his base case but reflects what full execution of hyperscaler investment plans would imply. Market pricing suggests skepticism that all projects will materialize, pointing instead to 1.6 million tons in 2028 — still a 60% increase from this year. Trafigura chief economist Saad Rahim said at a London Metal Exchange seminar on Monday that without data-center demand, global copper consumption would fall this year. Van noted that data-center builders are not price sensitive, and that high prices should encourage a 2 million-ton supply increase next year. Copper has rallied to record levels this year as shipments to the US ahead of anticipated tariffs tightened other markets.