METALS-Copper eases amid uncertainty on tariffs, interest rates, Ukraine

By Eric Onstad

LONDON, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Copper prices drifted lower on Thursday on a firm dollar and as investors stayed on the sidelines awaiting clarity on a range of issues, including tariffs, the Ukraine war, Chinese demand and U.S. interest rates.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 fell 0.4% to $9,766 per metric ton by 1600 GMT, having slipped from its highest in over two weeks, touched on Tuesday at $9,865.

So far this year, LME copper has gained 11%.

Weighing on copper was a rise in the dollar index .DXY after strong U.S. producer prices data, making commodities priced in the U.S. currency more expensive for buyers using other currencies. FRX/

"We're looking to not only the negotiations on Friday (on Ukraine), we've got Jackson Hole coming up, we've also got the continued focus on central banks and the FOMC," said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank in Copenhagen.

Next week, the U.S. central bank's annual economic policy symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, takes place and the Federal Open Market Committee is due to issue minutes from its July meeting.

"These are some of the big picture things that the market is looking for answers to, and until we get that, we're probably going to have this range-bound behaviour that we're seeing right now."

The market has upside potential, but needs a trigger to break out of the current range of $9,500 to $9,900, Hansen added.

In top metals consumer China, the most traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 eased 0.5% to 78,950 yuan ($11,008.39) a ton.

Helping to underpin the market was a recent rise in the premium traders pay over SHFE prices to buy copper in the spot market SMM-CU-PND to 200 yuan per ton, having doubled over the past week.

The market is awaiting key China data on Friday, with retail sales, industrial production and fixed asset investment expected to show some improvement despite trade concerns, according to ANZ analysts.

LME aluminium CMAL3 edged up 0.1% to $2,619.50 a ton, zinc CMZN3 rose 0.5% to $2,842 and lead CMPB3 added 0.2% to $1,991 while nickel CMNI3 dropped 1.4% to $15,050 and tin CMSN3 fell 0.8% to $33,470.

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