SINGAPORE, Aug 28 (Reuters) – London copper prices lost ground on Tuesday, set to fall for three out of four sessions as the trade war between the United States and China clouded the demand-outlook for industrial metals. FUNDAMENTALS: * COPPER: Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange had dropped 0.6 percent to $6,066.50 a tonne by 0330 GMT, while the most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange slid 0.4 percent to 48,540 yuan ($7,061.39) a tonne. * TRADE: “As long as trade tensions drag on, the market will remain concerned about its impact on global demand,” said Argonaut Securities analyst Helen Lau. “There is no news-flow on any supply shocks, such as strikes, which could support prices.”
* TALKS: U.S. and Chinese officials ended two days of talks last week with no major breakthrough as their trade war escalated with activation of another round of duelling tariffs.
* DUTIES: The U.S. Commerce Department said on Monday it had made a preliminary determination that imports of certain steel wheels from China were subsidized at rates ranging from 58.75 percent to 172.51 percent, and it would impose duties on the product.
* GROWTH: China’s investment growth, already at record lows, may weaken even further in the future and authorities should step up fiscal and financial measures to give it a boost, the state planner said on Monday.
* INFRASTRUCTURE: Beijing is urging more infrastructure spending as the economy faces both domestic and external risks, such as U.S. tariffs. But the benefits will take time to kick in, with analysts expecting the economy to get worse before it gets better.
