METALS-Metals trade in tight range as market awaits US-China meeting

SHANGHAI, May 7 (Reuters) - Metals in London were rangebound on Wednesday as investors awaited a meeting between top U.S. and Chinese trade officials, set for the weekend in Switzerland, as a chance to tone down the ongoing trade war.

Benchmark copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was down 0.1% to $9,533.5 a metric ton as of 0140 GMT.

"My sense is this will be about de-escalation," U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News.

To support the economy amidst a prolonged trade war with the U.S., China's central bank governor announced on Wednesday that the bank will, for the first time in 2025, reduce the reserve requirement ratio for banks by 50 basis points.

On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he and top administration officials will review potential trade deals over the next two weeks to decide which ones to accept.

"We are eagerly anticipating advancements in relations between the U.S. and China, as the potential agreement is something we have been hoping to witness," a trader said.

In other London metals, aluminium CMAL3 lost 0.1% to $2,425 a ton, zinc CMZN3 added 0.1% to $2,635, lead CMPB3 lost 0.1% to $1,921, tin CMSN3 was up 0.1% to $32,020 and nickel CMNI3 was flat at $15,700 a ton.

The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) rose 0.7% to 78,220 yuan ($10,759) per ton, with support from rapidly falling stocks monitored by the SHFE.

SHFE aluminium SAFcv1 lost 0.9% to 19,680 yuan a ton, zinc SZNcv1 fell 0.3% to 22,350 yuan, lead SPBcv1 declined 0.2% to 16,670 yuan, nickel SNIcv1 rose 0.1% to 124,650 yuan and tin SSNcv1 was up 0.4% to 261,490 yuan.

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