COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk on Thursday lowered its global container market forecast for this year due to increased economic and geopolitical uncertainty, although it left its profit outlook unchanged.

Trade tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump have prompted companies worldwide to cut sales targets and major economies to revise down growth prospects, impacting demand for shipping goods at sea.

Maersk, viewed as a barometer of world trade, said it now expected global container volumes within a range of down 1% to up 4% this year, compared with the 4% growth estimated at the beginning of the year.

"Policy uncertainty and the threat of further escalations to the trade war cast a shadow over the U.S. economic outlook," Maersk said in its first-quarter earnings report.

"If Chinese exporters redirect lost U.S. exports to other markets, a protectionist backlash could follow, risking a broader trade war," it said.

Maersk still expects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) this year of between $6 billion and $9 billion.

Its EBITDA rose 70% year-on-year to $2.71 billion in the first three months of the year, compared with the $2.41 billion expected by analysts in a company poll.