METALS-Copper gains on tariff exemptions and China stimulus hopes

By Polina Devitt

LONDON, April 14 (Reuters) - Copper prices rose to their highest in more than a week on Monday, boosted by some exemptions from U.S. tariffs, expectations that top metals consumer China would roll out more stimulus measures, and a weaker dollar.

Benchmark three-month copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was up 0.3% to $9,285 a metric ton at 1602 GMT, after hitting $9,271.5 for its highest since April 4.

Copper has gained 13.5% since sliding to a multi-month low of $8,105 a ton a week ago, when tariff sparring between the U.S. and China - the world's two largest economies - exacerbated fears over global economic growth.

"The market seems to have found a base and seen the lows for now," one metals trader said, adding that the recent fall in copper prices attracted buying interest.

In the latest twist, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration granted exclusions from tariffs on smartphones, computers and some other electronics imported largely from China.

The exemptions may be short-lived after Trump said on Sunday that he would be announcing the tariff rate on imported semiconductors this week.

On the technical front, the LME copper contract is facing resistance from the 100-day moving average at $9,279.

Meanwhile, the spread between LME cash copper and the three-month contract CMCU0-3 was volatile ahead of this week's LME contract settlement. It was last at a discount of $23.5, compared with a premium of $37 a ton at Friday's close and a discount of $38 a week ago.

In China, official data showed that the country's January-March imports of copper and copper products fell 5.2% as a persisting premium of Comex copper HGc1 against London prices LMECMXCUc3 prompted redirection of some of the shipments to the U.S. HG-STX-COMEX

New bank loans in China rebounded more than expected in March, while the annual growth of outstanding total social financing (TSF), viewed as an indicator of future industrial metals demand, rose to 8.4% from 8.2% in February due to an acceleration in government bond issuance to boost the economy.

In other metals, LME aluminium CMAL3 slipped 0.6% to $2,383 a ton, zinc CMZN3 fell 0.7% to $2,634, lead CMPB3 rose 0.2% to $1,918, while tin CMSN3 climbed 0.3% to $31,300 and nickel CMNI3 climbed 1.6% to $15,315.