METALS-London copper edges up on dollar weakness; US tariff woes limit gains

(Recasts paragraph 1, updates prices) NEW DELHI, March 11 (Reuters) - London copper recovered from early losses to trade higher on Tuesday, supported by a weaker dollar, although concerns over the U.S. tariff policy and trade conflict kept gains in check. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) CMCU3 was up 0.2% at $9,548 a metric ton, as of 0704 GMT. The most-active copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 fell 0.5% to 78,030 yuan ($10,772.12) a ton. The yen was investors' safe harbour of choice on Tuesday and it touched a five-month high as fears about a tariff-driven slowdown in U.S. economic growth have rattled U.S. stocks and the dollar. USD/ A softer dollar makes greenback-priced commodities less expensive for buyers holding other currencies. On Sunday, Trump declined to comment on the negative market reaction to his on-again, off-again tariff actions against the biggest U.S. trading partners, and whether anxieties related to his erratic policy shifts could nudge a softening economy into recession. "In the longer term, altered trade routes and any retaliation on tariffs could lead to economic shocks, uncertainty in investment and ultimately headwinds for the suite, especially if we see tensions further rise between the U.S. and China," said Natalie Scott-Gray, senior metals analyst at StoneX. "Here, note the health of China is more uncertain now than during the period of previous tariffs." China consumes about half of global copper supplies annually. Among other metals, LME aluminium CMAL3 eased 0.02% to $2,693.5 a ton, zinc CMZN3 was up 0.3% to $2,866 and nickel CMNI3 climbed 0.2% to $16,580. Lead CMPB3 was down 0.2% at $2,044 and tin CMSN3 edged 0.2% higher to $32,720. SHFE aluminium SAFcv1 dipped 0.1% to 20,845 yuan a ton, zinc SZNcv1 lost 0.08% to 23,840 yuan and lead SPBcv1 edged down 0.09% to 17,400 yuan. Nickel SNIcv1 was up nearly 1% to 132,990 yuan and tin SSNcv1 edged up 0.1% to 263,030 yuan. ($1 = 7.2437 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Neha Arora; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips) ((neha.dasgupta@thomsonreuters.com;))