METALS-London metals mixed ahead of US-China trade talks

SHANGHAI, May 8 (Reuters) - Metal prices in London showed mixed movements on Thursday, as investors anticipated the U.S.-China trade talks following the Federal Reserve's warning that increasing inflation and labor market risks could fuel economic uncertainty.

Benchmark copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange (LME) rose 0.1% to $9,432.5 a metric ton as of 0139 GMT.

On Wednesday, the Fed kept interest rates unchanged, acknowledging that risks of higher inflation and unemployment had risen, further clouding the U.S. economic outlook amid the effects of President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said it isn't clear if the economy will continue its steady pace of growth or wilt under mounting uncertainty and a possible coming spike in inflation.

Meanwhile, Trump announced on Truth Social there will be an Oval Office news conference regarding a major trade deal "with representatives of a big, and highly respected, country" on Thursday. However, he did not name the country.

At the same time, traders adopted a cautious stance ahead of the scheduled U.S.-China meeting in Switzerland this weekend, after months of escalating tensions that pushed tariffs between the world's two largest economies well beyond 100%.

The two countries are expected to discuss easing broader tariffs and duties on specific products.

"We're all waiting for any news or updates from the U.S. and China trade talks. Until we hear more, it's hard to see where markets are headed," a trader said.

In other London metals, aluminium CMAL3 rose 0.3% to $2,389 a ton, zinc CMZN3 added 0.3% to $2,624, lead CMPB3 slid 0.3% to $1,951, tin CMSN3 gained 0.2% to $31,685 and nickel CMNI3 fell 0.2% to $15,525 a ton.

The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) fell 0.4% to 77,690 yuan ($10,732.59) per ton.

SHFE aluminium SAFcv1 lost 0.6% to 19,530 yuan a ton, zinc SZNcv1 rose 0.2% to 22,390 yuan, lead SPBcv1 gained 0.6% to 16,835 yuan, nickel SNIcv1 fell 0.4% to 123,620 yuan and tin SSNcv1 dipped 0.2% to 261,270 yuan.

($1 = 7.2387 Chinese yuan renminbi)

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