METALS-London copper inches higher on weaker dollar; tariff developments in focus

By Hongmei Li

June 5 (Reuters) - London copper prices inched up on Thursday amid a weakening U.S. dollar, while the market focus remained on a series of trade talks between the U.S. and its major trading partners.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 gained nearly 0.4% to $9,656.5 per metric ton, as of 0702 GMT, and the most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 held steady at 78,170 yuan ($10,884.46) per ton.

The dollar index =USD, which measures the U.S. currency against six others, was at 98.87 and has dropped about 9% this year, poised for its weakest yearly performance since 2017. USD/

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

On the trade front, U.S. President Donald Trump called his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping tough and "extremely hard to make a deal with" on Wednesday, exposing frictions after the White House raised expectations of a long-awaited phone call between the two leaders this week.

Canada prepared possible reprisals, while the European Union reported progress in trade talks on Wednesday, as new U.S. metals tariffs triggered more disruption in the global economy and added urgency to negotiations with Washington.

"Trump's 50% tariffs on aluminium and steel have raised expectations that he will soon follow through with a pledge to impose stiffer duties on copper as well," ANZ said.

Tin CMSN3 on the LME eased around 0.2% to $31,950 a ton after hitting a one-week high on Wednesday on concerns that the resumption of supply from Myanmar's tin-rich Wa State would take longer than previously expected.

Among other London metals, LME aluminium CMAL3 ticked down 0.2% to $2,478 a ton, lead CMPB3 eased 0.4% to $1,983, while nickel CMNI3 edged up 0.3% to $15,440.

SHFE tin SSNcv1 remained the strongest performer on Thursday, up 1.5% to 258,900 yuan, aluminium SAFcv1 stayed steady at 20,010 yuan a ton, lead SPBcv1 added 0.4% to 16,695 yuan, while nickel SNIcv1 was down 0.4% to 121,570 yuan.

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DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0830 US S&P GLOBAL PMI: MSC COMPOSITE - OUTPUT May

1215 EU ECB Refinancing, Deposit Rate Jun

1230 US International Trade $ Apr

1230 US Initial Jobless Clm 31 May, w/e

1430 US EIA-Nat Gas Chg Bcf, Nat Gas-EIA Implied Flow 30 May, w/e

($1 = 7.1818 Chinese yuan)

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