LONDON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Aluminium prices sank to a one-week low on Friday after a report the U.S. may trim some import tariffs, though they pared losses after investors decided any impact would be modest.
Other industrial metals lost ground on profit-taking and risk-off sentiment.
Benchmark three-month aluminium on the London Metal Exchange gave up as much as 2.7% but cut its losses to 0.9% by 1700 GMT at $3,074 a metric ton, its weakest since February 6.
On Thursday, it touched a nearly two-week peak on supply concerns.
"Macro-driven risk-off sentiment and broad profit-taking continue to unwind the strong early-year rally," said Ewa Manthey, commodities strategist at ING in London.
"News that the U.S. may roll back parts of its aluminium tariff regime has introduced an extra layer of uncertainty for trade flows and pricing."
The premium that U.S. buyers pay for physical metal over the LME price tumbled 6.8% to 93 cents per lb.
TRUMP REPORTED TO BE CONSIDERING EASING TARIFFS
U.S. President Donald Trump is considering rolling back some tariffs on steel and aluminium goods because his officials believe the tariffs are hurting consumers, the Financial Times reported on Friday.
Trump hit steel and aluminium imports with tariffs of up to 50% in June last year, but analysts said the main market impact has come from duties on primary aluminium.
"If the administration were to go ahead and reduce tariffs on derivative products, we would see no impact on LME aluminium prices," Morgan Stanley analyst Amy Gower said in a note.
"We would only see downward pressure if any tariff reductions were extended to primary metal too."
Trading has slowed in China since the Shanghai Futures Exchange will be closed from February 15 for the nine-day Lunar New Year break and reopen on February 24.
LME copper was little changed at $12,883 a ton after touching a one-week low, moving further away from its record peak of $14,527.50 hit on January 29, as physical demand declines ahead of the break and inventories on the world's three biggest metal exchanges have exceeded 1 million metric tons for the first time in more than two decades.
Among other metals, LME zinc dropped 1% to $3,339 a ton, nickel shed 2.5% to $17,000 a ton, lead fell 0.6% to $1,966 a ton and tin tumbled 5% to $47,200 a ton.
($1 = 6.9130 Chinese yuan renminbi)