METALS-London copper eases on US tariff woes, but weak dollar caps fall

Reuters
11 hours ago
METALS-London copper eases on US tariff woes, but weak dollar caps fall

NEW DELHI, March 10 (Reuters) - London copper edged lower on Monday amid uncertainties around U.S. tariff policies, although some weakness in the dollar limited the downside.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange $(LME.AU)$ CMCU3 eased 0.3% to $9,588 a metric ton by 0223 GMT.

The most-active copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 fell 0.5% to 78,290 yuan ($10,797.73) a ton.

U.S. President Donald Trump in a Fox News interview on Sunday declined to predict whether the U.S. could face a recession amid stock market concerns about his tariff actions on Mexico, Canada and China over fentanyl.

The Trump trade policies have raised trade war fears that could slam economic growth and raise prices for Americans still smarting from years of high inflation.

"Dramatic shifts in U.S. trade and foreign policy are likely to cause further disruption to metal markets," ANZ Research said.

"President Trump has placed a 25% tariff on U.S. aluminium and steel imports. A levy on copper is also on the cards. The short-term impact will be a rise in premiums as the U.S. struggles to adjust to the dislocation in physical markets."

Meanwhile, the dollar began the day weak after significant losses last week due to a potentially weakening U.S. labour market, while concerns over a global trade war led investors to safe havens, lifting the yen and the Swiss franc. USD/

A softer dollar makes greenback-priced commodities less expensive for buyers holding other currencies.

Among other metals, LME aluminium CMAL3 fell 0.5% to $2,692.5 a ton, zinc CMZN3 lost 0.5% to $2,873.5 and nickel CMNI3 eased 0.6% to $16,405. Lead CMPB3 firmed 0.2% to $2,023 and tin CMSN3 eased 0.2% to $32,455.

SHFE aluminium SAFcv1 shed 0.2% to 20,845 yuan a ton, zinc SZNcv1 lost 0.9% to 23,845 yuan and lead SPBcv1 slid 0.3% to 17,430 yuan. Nickel SNIcv1 climbed 1.3% to 131,970 yuan and tin SSNcv1 firmed 0.08% to 262,150 yuan.

($1 = 7.2506 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Neha Arora; Editing by Sumana Nandy)

((neha.dasgupta@thomsonreuters.com;))

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