METALS-London copper slips on US tariff woes; soft dollar limits fall

NEW DELHI, March 11 (Reuters) - London copper edged lower on Tuesday, pressured by concerns over the U.S. tariff policy and trade conflict affecting demand, although a softer dollar helped cushion the downside.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) CMCU3 eased 0.4% to $9,494.5 a metric ton by 0155 GMT.

The most-active copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 fell 1.1% to 77,610 yuan ($10,694.80) a ton.

Benchmark LME copper had hit a four-month high of $9,739 last week after U.S. President Donald Trump granted exemptions for automakers from 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico for one month.

On Sunday, Trump declined to comment on the negative market reaction to his on-again, off-again tariff actions against the biggest U.S. trading partners, and whether anxieties related to his erratic policy shifts could nudge a softening economy into recession.

"In the longer term, altered trade routes and any retaliation on tariffs could lead to economic shocks, uncertainty in investment and ultimately headwinds for the suite, especially if we see tensions further rise between the U.S. and China," said Natalie Scott-Gray, senior metals analyst at StoneX.

"Here, note the health of China is more uncertain now than during the period of previous tariffs."

China consumes about half of global copper supplies annually.

Meanwhile, the yen was investors' safe harbour of choice on Tuesday and it traded near five-month highs as fears about a tariff-driven slowdown in U.S. growth have rattled U.S. stocks and the dollar. USD/

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

Among other metals, LME aluminium CMAL3 fell 0.7% to $2,674 a ton, zinc CMZN3 lost 0.6% to $2,840 and nickel CMNI3 eased 0.8% to $16,425. Lead CMPB3 was down 0.6% at $2,037 and tin CMSN3 eased 0.5% to $32,500.

SHFE aluminium SAFcv1 shed 0.8% to 20,700 yuan a ton, zinc SZNcv1 lost 0.9% to 23,640 yuan and lead SPBcv1 gained 0.2% to 17,455 yuan. Nickel SNIcv1 was down 0.2% to 131,500 yuan and tin SSNcv1 eased 0.3% to 261,940 yuan.

($1 = 7.2568 Chinese yuan)