METALS-Copper steady after US court puts brakes on Trump tariffs

By Ashitha Shivaprasad

May 29 (Reuters) - Copper prices steadied on Thursday, lifted by market optimism after a federal court halted President Donald Trump's move to impose sweeping tariffs on imports from most of the United States' trading partners.

The Court of International Trade blocked most of Trump's tariffs in a broad ruling on Wednesday that found the president had overstepped his authority by imposing across-the-board duties on imports.

The Trump administration minutes later filed a notice of appeal and questioned the authority of the court.

ING commodities analyst Ewa Manthey said copper gained because the court ruling boosted risk appetite, though markets were likely to remain volatile as the administration fights the decision.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 was little changed at $9,567 per metric ton by 1627 GMT.

LME copper has rebounded nearly 19% since touching a 17-month low of $8,105 in April after Trump imposed his so-called reciprocal tariffs.

Also supporting the market was a softer U.S. dollar, reversing earlier gains, as investors prepared for a battle over the tariffs. A weaker dollar makes commodities prices in the U.S. currency less expensive for buyers using other currencies. USD/

Discussing the outlook for copper, Manthey noted that downside risks include prolonged trade negotiations and reduced policy stimulus from China. On the upside, prices could benefit from possible cuts in refined copper production amid ongoing tightness in concentrates, he said.

Market attention also remained fixed on Washington's ongoing investigation into potential copper import tariffs, which has kept the COMEX copper premium over the LME benchmark elevated and spurred a surge of metal inflows into COMEX-owned warehouses HG-STX-COMEX.

U.S. Comex copper futures HGc3 dipped 0.1% to $4.70 a lb, bringing the Comex premium over LME to $792 a ton.

Meanwhile, Chile's state copper commission Cochilco raised its average copper price forecast for this year and next, citing an improved global outlook following a pause in the tariff war between the United States and China.

Among other metals, LME aluminium CMAL3 eased 0.7% to $2,451.50 a ton, zinc CMZN3 slipped 0.5% to $2,673, lead CMPB3 fell 1% to $1,962 and tin CMSN3 gave up 1.9% to $31,035. Nickel CMNI3 gained 2.5% to $15,380.

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