METALS-Copper hovers near more than five-month high on anticipated US tariffs

(Updates prices for Asia market close)

SHANGHAI, March 20 (Reuters) - Copper prices on the London Metals Exchange hovered near their highest levels in more than five months on Thursday, with markets watching out for potential U.S. tariffs on the metal.

The benchmark three-month copper on the LME was up 0.2% to $10,006 a metric ton as of 0702 GMT, gliding near the highest since October 2, 2024.

U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered a probe into possible new tariffs on copper, inflating the premium of Comex copper over the LME contract, which was at a record high of $1,259 a ton on Wednesday, surpassing the record peak hit on Tuesday.

"Copper prices are likely to remain supported in the near term amid front-loading ahead of tariffs," ING Economics said.

The threat of copper tariffs under the Trump administration has led to a surge of its imports into the U.S., consequently tightening supplies in other regions, as noted by ING.

The LME Nickel was the worst performer among base metals and was down 1.1% to $16,225 a ton, with supply worries eased by news that the major nickel processing complex in Indonesia remained unaffected by recent floods.

LME aluminium rose 0.1% to $2,673.5 a ton, lead fell 0.2% to $2,081, zinc gained 0.4% to $2,935 and tin added 0.3% to $35,115.

SHFE copper climbed 1.3% to 81,670 yuan ($11,288.81) a ton, SHFE aluminium rose 1.1% to 20,895 yuan a ton, zinc gained 0.1% to 23,855 yuan, lead fell 0.1% to 17,605 yuan, nickel lost 0.6% to 129,670 yuan and tin shed 0.4% to 280,360 yuan. ($1 = 7.2346 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Violet Li and Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Sumana Nandy)