METALS-LME copper rebounds after sell-off; firm dollar, tariff woes weigh

(Updates to reflect rise in copper prices) Dec 3 (Reuters) - London copper prices nudged higher on Tuesday after a sell-off in the last session, but a firmer U.S. dollar and uncertainty over potential U.S. tariffs capped further gains. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) CMCU3 rose 0.5% to $9,039 per metric ton by 0705 GMT after hitting a more than two-week low on Monday. The most-traded January copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) SCFcv1 closed 0.9% higher at 74,340 yuan ($10,203.69) a ton. The dollar was buoyant, making greenback-priced metals costlier for holders of other currencies. USD/ Markets are concerned about President-elect Donald Trump's proposed import tariffs, which could harm global economic growth. His pledges might also disrupt the global metal demand-supply balance and potentially lead to price fluctuations. "For the rest of the year, copper prices will likely remain range-bound with a negative bias. People nervous about Trump's proclamations may decide to do some selling ahead of his inauguration (in January)," said Marex consultant Edward Meir. Elsewhere, the mood in China's manufacturing sector has been depressed for months due to tumbling producer prices and dwindling orders. However, recent data suggest the stimulus blitz is improving sentiment on factory floors in the world's top consumer of industrial metals. NAB analysts expect base metal prices to trend lower across 2025 and 2026, with weaker activity in China as the key driver. LME aluminium CMAL3 rose 0.1% to $2,593.5 a ton, nickel CMNI3 gained 1.2% at $15,880, tin CMSN3 rose 1.1% to $28,885, while zinc CMZN3 declined 0.2% to $3,072 and lead CMPB3 lost 0.6% at $2,063.5. SHFE aluminium SAFcv1 was flat at 20,385 yuan a ton, nickel SNIcv1 rose 0.2% to 126,010 yuan, lead SPBcv1 climbed 0.1% at 17,455 yuan, tin SSNcv1 firmed 0.9% at 243,540 yuan, while zinc SZNcv1 eased 0.7% to 25,290 yuan. For the top stories in metals and other news, click TOP/MTL or MET/L (Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Sumana Nandy) (([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 ))