Nov 28 - Copper prices eased on Thursday, weighed down by a firmer dollar and concerns over the potential U.S. tariffs on Chinese products that could hurt metals consumption.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange eased 0.2% to $9,000 per metric ton by 0408 GMT, while the most-traded January copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dipped 0.2% to 73,800 yuan a ton.
The dollar index edged up, making greenback-priced metals more expensive to holders of other currencies.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said earlier this week he will impose an additional 10% tariffs on all Chinese goods after he takes office in January.
Copper prices will be trading in tight ranges for the short-term as people are waiting for more details on Trump's policies and how the Chinese government reacts to them, said analyst Matt Huang at broker BANDS Financial.
Some are also waiting for more key policy meetings in China and companies' annual reports to see how well they are doing, he said.
"We will be here for a while but if the U.S. dollar depreciates a lot copper price will go up," Huang said.
However, supporting copper at $9,000, a key resistance level, is solid buying from China.
"It's all about the absolute price. At $9,000 they will buy more," Huang said.
Copper inventories in SHFE warehouses
LME aluminium eased 0.5% to $2,583 a ton, while nickel rose 0.9% to $16,025, zinc edged down 0.6% at $3,112.50, lead increased 0.3% to $2,063.50 and tin fell 0.3% to $27,860.
SHFE aluminium fell 1.1% to 20,315 yuan a ton, tin dropped 2% to 233,250 yuan, while nickel rose 0.3% to 126,920 yuan, zinc climbed 1.1% to 25,850 yuan and lead advanced 0.7% to 17,355 yuan.
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