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London Copper prices fall as US tariffs weigh

London Copper prices fall as US tariffs weigh

The copper price in London fell on Friday, and is on track to lose money for the week as unease about looming U.S. Tariffs weighs on sentiment.

As of 0231 GMT, the benchmark three-month Copper on the London Metals Exchange slid 0.05%, to $9,842 per metric ton. Prices were down by 0.1% for the week.

Last month, U.S. president Donald Trump ordered an investigation into possible tariffs on imports of copper to rebuild U.S. manufacturing.

Trump's promise to announce new, sweeping tariffs is also causing concern in the markets. He has already announced that 25% of imported cars will be subject to levies starting on April 3.

"We believe that the higher U.S. Tariffs and a general shift away from global trade, will harm world economic prospects in the coming year, helping to undermine demand for base metals," said Dan Smith.

Other metals include LME aluminium, which was down by 0.2% at $2,557 per ton. Lead increased 0.1% to 2,043, Zinc decreased 0.02% to $2 899, Tin fell 0.2% to 35,210 and Nickel gained 0.7% to 16,355 per ton.

SHFE copper fell 1.2% to 80.630 yuan (11,103.46 dollars) per ton. SHFE aluminium dropped 1.06% to 20.565 yuan. Zinc slipped 1.14% at 23,845 Yuan. Lead eased by 0.8% to 17.480 Yuan. Nickel gained 0.9% at 131.420 yuan. Tin rose 0.2% at 280.720 yuan. ($1 = 7.2617 Chinese Yuan) (Reporting and editing by Rashmi aich)

(source: Reuters)