METALS-Copper falls as US tariff worries mount, power outage hits Chile

Updates prices to include Chile power outage

By Polina Devitt

LONDON, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Copper prices fell in London on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his import tariff plans for Canada and Mexico, but the market was focused on a power outage which hit vast swaths of Chile, the world's top copper producer.

Three-month copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange (LME) lost 1.1% to $9,395 a metric ton, breaking below support of its 200-day moving average at $9,423.

After the LME market close on Tuesday, a large power outage struck vast swaths of Chile. Escondida, the world's largest copper mine, was without electricity, a source close to the matter told Reuters, while state-owned copper miner Codelco said all its mines had been affected.

Chile's interior ministry said the outage was caused by a transmission line failure in the country's north, and that power should start coming back online in the "coming hours."

U.S. Comex March copper futures HGc2 reversed previous decline and were last steady at $4.516 lb.

When asked on Monday whether Canada and Mexico had done enough to avoid the punishing 25% U.S. duties flagged by Trump previously, Trump said that tariffs were "on time and on schedule".

Trump did not specifically mention the previous March 4 deadline and later referred to his desire for "reciprocal" tariffs to match duty rates and offset trade barriers of all countries.

"Tariff threats continue to hang over the markets and are contributing to the general unease," said Marex consultant Edward Meir.

U.S. consumer confidence deteriorated at its sharpest pace in 3-1/2 years in February, with 12-month inflation expectations surging, prompting a sell-off in a broad range of assets.

Aluminium giant Alcoa AA.N said that Trump's plan to impose a tariff on aluminium imports from March 4 could cost about 100,000 jobs across the United States. The company is lobbying for a tariff exemption on Canadian aluminium, said CEO Bill Oplinger.

LME aluminium CMAL3 shed 0.6% to $2,639 a ton.

Meanwhile, copper stocks available to the market in the LME system fell to 170,975 tons, their lowest since July, from 258,425 tons on February 19 owing to cancellations. MCUSTX-TOTAL, 0#MCUSTX-LOC

Despite the tightening nearby supply, the discount between the LME cash contract and the three-month contract CMCU0-3 widened to $37.65 a ton from $5 a day before after a volatile session.

In other metals, zinc CMZN3 dropped 1.6% to $2,805.5 a ton, lead CMPB3 rose 0.6% to $2,000, tin CMSN3 was down 1.5% at $32,740 and nickel CMNI3 lost 0.6% to $15,360.

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