CME weighs copper warehousing in Chicago as stocks pile up

LONDON, Feb 19 (Reuters) - CME Group CME.O has received an application to list a copper warehouse in a suburb of Chicago, a notice from the U.S. commodity exchange operator shows, as the prospect of import tariffs has led traders to stockpile.

Kodiak Warehouse LLC has applied to take copper deliverable against the CME's Comex copper futures HGc1 in Lemont, Illinois, according to the notice dated February 18 that Reuters saw on Thursday.

CME did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

If approved, the Kodiak site would be the CME's only approved base metals warehouse in Illinois, a list of storage locations on the CME website shows.

Total CME copper warehouse capacity, all in the United States, is 1.1 million short tons and of that over half is in the state of Louisiana, where sources say even the vast New Orleans hub is getting full.

Traders have increased U.S.-bound shipments ahead of possible import tariffs from next year pushing up Comex copper stocks HG-STX-COMEX to a record 595,518 short tons, or 540,245 metric tons.

Kodiak's application was the fourth to the CME for a new copper storage facility this year, although one of these has been withdrawn.

The London Metal Exchange has warehouses in Chicago, although these have not held any copper since 2022 MCU-USCHI-TOTPD.