METALS-London copper prices little changed; tariff concerns resurface

By Hongmei Li

SINGAPORE, June 3 (Reuters) - London copper prices held steady as investors weighed a weaker U.S. currency and renewed concerns over the possible tariffs on the metal against support from declining inventories.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 shed 0.29% to $9,589 per metric ton as of 0105 GMT.

The dollar index =USD, which measures the U.S. currency against six major peers, fell to the lowest since late April. USD/

A softer dollar makes greenback-denominated assets more affordable to holders of other currencies. FRX/

Meanwhile, on Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced his plans to double the import tariffs on aluminum and steel to 50% effective Wednesday, renewing concerns about potential copper tariffs.

"U.S. trade officials are currently reviewing the impact of U.S. copper imports on the local industry, with a report due in the next few weeks," ANZ Research said.

"Copper is also finding support from improving fundamentals."

On Monday, copper stocks in the LME-registered warehouses MCUSTX-TOTAL dropped 45% since mid-February to 148,450 tons, the lowest in almost a year.

Among the other London metals, LME aluminium CMAL3 fell 0.36% to $2,457 a ton, zinc CMZN3 slipped 0.43% to $2,686.5, lead CMPB3 dipped 0.63% to $1,968.5 and nickel CMNI3 shed 0.75% to $15,420. Tin CMSN3 added 0.2% to $30,770.

The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) SCFcv1 gained 0.51% to 78,150 yuan ($10,855.52) per ton.

SHFE aluminium SAFcv1 held flat at 20,085 yuan a ton, lead SPBcv1 gained 0.1% to 16,635 yuan, nickel SNIcv1 rose 0.47% to 121,650 yuan, zinc SZNcv1 advanced 0.63% to 22,425 yuan, while tin SSNcv1 fell 0.55% to 251,520 yuan.

($1 = 7.1991 Chinese yuan)