SHANGHAI, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Metals prices were rangebound, with aluminium holding firm at a one-month high on Thursday as European Union envoys agreed to ban Russian primary aluminium imports in their 16th sanctions package to be adopted next week.
Three-month aluminium CMAL3 on the London Metals Exchange$(LME.UK)$ was up 0.1% at $2,690 a ton, as of 0113 GMT, its highest since January 20.
The Russian aluminium import ban will be phased in a year from the official adoption, EU diplomats said.
"Following a flurry of volatility amid Trump's threats of tariffs, the market seems to be taking a wait-and-see approach," ANZ Research said in a note.
The longer-term effect on metals from the geopolitical front was unclear. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration agreed on Tuesday to hold more talks with Russia on ending the war in Ukraine.
Russia is a major producer of aluminium, nickel and copper. The LME banned supplies of Russian metals made after April 2024 to its system last year.
Meanwhile, sources told Reuters that the Trump administration may seek to strike a simplified minerals deal with Ukraine to get a pact in place quickly and later negotiate detailed terms, such as how much of Ukraine's vast resources the U.S. would own.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange $(LME.AU)$ CMCU3 edged 0.1% higher to $9,473 a metric ton.
Zinc CMZN3 added 0.1% to $2,879, tin CMSN3 gained 0.5% to $32,850, lead CMPB3 lost 0.2% to $1,993 and nickel CMNI3 gained 0.2% to $15,430.
SHFE aluminium SAFcv1 gained 0.2% to 20,735 yuan ($2,848.14) a ton, SHFE copper SCFcv1 rose 0.3% to 77,220 yuan, nickel SNIcv1 climbed 0.2% to 124,000 yuan, while zinc SZNcv1 lost 0.1% to 23,940 yuan, lead SPBcv1 lost 0.1% to 17,015 yuan and tin SSNcv1 slipped 0.2% to 261,080 yuan.
($1 = 7.2802 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Violet Li and Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
((Violet.Li@thomsonreuters.com;))
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