METALS-LME copper off one-week highs on tariff uncertainty

Feb 23 (Reuters) - LME copper traded below one-week highs touched earlier on Monday as uncertainty gripped markets after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, countered by his announcement of 15% levies on all U.S. imports.

Benchmark copper CMCU3 on the LME was down 0.1% at $12,941.50 a metric ton as of 0805 GMT, after hitting a more than one-week high of $13,050 earlier in the session on a softer dollar.

The Shanghai Futures Exchange, closed for the Lunar New Year holiday, will reopen on February 24.

Copper, especially, has wobbled due to tariff uncertainties and thin volumes, said Jigar Trivedi, a senior research analyst at IndusInd Securities. "So because of this, I think we have some pressure on base metals."

U.S. and foreign officials, corporate executives, analysts and investors face rekindled uncertainty from a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Trump's tariff plans last week and his ensuing suggestion of substantial levies coming in an attempted workaround.

Trump said on Saturday he will raise a temporary tariff from 10% to 15% on U.S. imports from all countries, after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down key parts of its previous tariff program.

"Tariffs on copper and aluminium are not impacted by the striking down of tariffs imposed under IEEPA. But there remain big questions over the international trade picture moving forward, such as whether existing trade deals will be subject to the new 15% global tariffs," KCM Trade chief market analyst Tim Waterer said.

Meanwhile, copper stocks in LME-approved warehouses rose 9,575 tons to 235,150 tons on Friday MCUSTX-TOTAL, the highest since March 2025.

In other metals, aluminium CMAL3 dipped 0.1% to $3,100, while lead CMPB3 lost 0.1% to $1,963. Zinc CMZN3 prices edged 0.2% down to $3,376, and nickel CMNI3 climbed 1.3% to $17,580 a ton while Tin CMSN3 also added 1.2% to $46,930.