METALS-London base metals fall as ‘Trump trades’ push dollar higher

(Updates prices) Nov 6 (Reuters) - Prices of London-listed base metals tumbled on Wednesday as the U.S. dollar surged, with investors betting that Republican Donald Trump could win the U.S. presidential election. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) CMCU3 fell 2% to $9,537 per metric ton by 0704 GMT after hitting near one-week low earlier in the session. The most-traded December copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) SCFcv1 closed 0.9% lower at 76,770 yuan ($10,712.34) a ton. LME aluminium CMAL3 dropped 1.5% to $2,619.5 a ton, nickel CMNI3 dipped 0.6% to $16,025, zinc CMZN3 lost 1.8% to $3,047.5, lead CMPB3 decreased 0.9% to $2,010 and tin CMSN3 fell 1.7% to $31,800. Fox News projected that Republican Donald Trump has won the battleground state of Pennsylvania, which would all but close off Democrat Kamala Harris' chances of winning the U.S. presidency. Other networks and data providers had yet to make a call in the state. The dollar index =USD jumped as investors returned to so-called "Trump trades", making greenback-priced metals more expensive for other currency holders. USD/ Analysts and traders also noted that a potential second term for Trump could lead to the reintroduction of tariffs, which might negatively impact global base metals trading. "Tariffs remain a potential risk to the market under a Trump presidency. But once the dust settles on election, focus will be back on China and its economic growth," ANZ analyst Soni Kumari said. "It is clear that China is really trying to revive its economy and the targeted stimulus measures should bring positive market sentiment." China is considering more than $1.4 trillion in extra debt over the next few years, a fiscal package that is expected to be further bolstered if Trump wins the presidential race, sources said. A meeting of the standing committee of China's National People's Congress, concluding on Nov. 8, is being closely watched for stimulus cues. China's economic recovery is key for base metals because it is the largest consumer. SHFE aluminium SAFcv1 added 0.1% at 20,960 yuan a ton, nickel SNIcv1 gained 0.3% to 124,460 yuan, zinc SZNcv1 rose 0.4% to 24,955 yuan, tin SSNcv1 dipped 0.6% to 260,610 yuan and lead SPBcv1 decreased 0.6% to 16,690 yuan. For the top stories in metals and other news, click TOP/MTL or MET/L (Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Sonia Cheema) (([email protected];)) (( For related news and prices, click on the codes in brackets: LME price overview RING= COMEX copper futures 0#HG: All metals news MTL All commodities news C Foreign exchange rates FX= SPEED GUIDES LME/INDEX ))