METALS-Copper trades in narrow range with traders eyeing fresh catalyst

Nov 27 (Reuters) - Copper prices edged up on Wednesday supported by a softer dollar but were confined to a narrow range with market participants eyeing more cues. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) CMCU3 rose 0.2% to $9,021 per metric ton by 0349 GMT, while the most-traded January copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) SCFcv1 was nearly flat at 73,870 yuan ($10,180.12) a ton. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Monday released details of his planned tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico, in which he pledged to add an additional 10% tariff on all Chinese goods. Prices fell earlier in the week, but eventually bounced back, as the tariffs on China have so far been less than previously expected. "The devil is very much in the detail on all these announcements. It's all headlines and no detail right now," said Guy Wolf, Global Head of Market Analytics at broker Marex. Helping to support prices on Wednesday was a softer dollar which makes greenback-priced metals cheaper to holders of other currencies. LME aluminium CMAL3 rose 0.1% to $2,614 a ton, nickel CMNI3 edged up 0.2% at $16,020, tin CMSN3 dropped 2.6% to $28,150, zinc CMZN3 increased 0.6% to $3,094.50 and lead CMPB3 advanced 0.5% to $2,031. SHFE aluminium SAFcv1 fell 0.4% to 20,520 yuan a ton, nickel SNIcv1 declined 1.6% to 126,250 yuan, tin SSNcv1 dropped 3.2% to 234,710 yuan, while zinc SZNcv1 rose 2% to 25,610 yuan and lead SPBcv1 increased 0.2% to 17,225 yuan. China's October industrial profits narrowed their earlier declines, helped by a low base the previous year, official data showed on Wednesday, but headwinds on earnings remain stiff with the economy still battling weak demand and deflation pressures. Market participants have been hoping for China to release more stimulus measures to support the economy, which could boost metal consumption. For the top stories in metals and other news, click TOP/MTL or MET/L ($1 = 7.2563 yuan) (Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Eileen Soreng) (([email protected]; Reuters Messaging: [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 ))