Copper
Metals Trading in Switzerland: Copper, Gold, and the LME Connection to Zug
Switzerland's commodity trading reputation was built on oil, but its metals trading operations are in many ways more structurally significant — and more durable. From Glencore's dominance of global copper and cobalt supply to Swiss refineries that process 70% of the world's newly mined gold, the country's metals trading ecosystem extends from Zug to London's LME and back through the vaults of Geneva's private banks.
Swiss Commodity Trading in 2026: Energy Transition, Sanctions, and the Competitive Threat from Dubai
Three forces are simultaneously reshaping Swiss commodity trading in 2026: the structural shift from fossil fuels to transition metals, deepening geopolitical fragmentation that has fractured commodity flows, and intensifying competition from Dubai and Singapore for the next generation of trading business. The companies that navigate all three will define the Swiss hub's next chapter.
Glencore: Baar's Commodity Giant and the World's Largest Trader
Headquartered in the quiet Zug municipality of Baar, Glencore is the world's largest commodity trading and mining company — a $217 billion revenue colossus that touches everything from copper mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo to oil cargoes moving through Rotterdam. Its story is inseparable from the history of Switzerland's rise as the world's commodity trading capital.