(Recasts with analyst comment and updated prices, adds

dateline)

By Eric Onstad

LONDON, June 5 (Reuters) - Copper prices hit their

strongest in two months on Thursday, boosted by speculators

after copper broke through technical levels as inventories

dwindled in London Metal Exchange warehouses and amid supply

worries after a big mine in Congo was suspended.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange

gained 1.52% to $9,761 per metric ton by 1025 GMT, the strongest

since April 1.

Copper got added momentum from speculators after it

decisively broke above technical levels on the upside, spurring

some automatic buy orders, traders said.

"Overall it's quite a good backdrop for copper at this

point. You still got this build up of Comex stocks coming

through, so there's a squeeze on the LME effectively," said Dan

Smith, managing director at Commodity Market Analytics.

U.S. President Donald Trump's move to double tariffs on

aluminium and steel to 50% has renewed focus on an ongoing U.S.

investigation into potential new copper import duties.

That has accelerated a flow of copper to the United States,

including from LME inventories, as traders seek to profit from

higher prices there in anticipation of U.S. tariffs being

imposed on the metal.

U.S. Comex copper futures climbed 2.5% to $5.01 a lb,

boosting the premium over LME copper to $1,321 a ton.

LME copper stocks fell to 138,000 tons, the weakest in

nearly a year and down by nearly half so far this year

, while Comex inventories have shot up by 90% over

the past two months .

LME data on Thursday also showed that copper stocks were due

to continue to drop as holders of 11,625 tons of inventories

notified the exchange of pending removals.

Copper is also being supported by concern about the recent

suspension of the Kakula copper mine in the Democratic Republic

of Congo, Smith added.

Co-owner Ivanhoe Mines ( IVPAF ) said on Monday it planned to

restart a section of the mine later this month.

LME tin rose 0.4% to $32,145 a ton after hitting a

one-week high on Wednesday on concerns that the resumption of

supply from Myanmar's tin-rich Wa State would take longer than

previously expected.

Among other London metals, LME aluminium added 0.2%

to $2,489 a ton and nickel gained 0.8% to $15,520 while

zinc was little changed at $2,701 and lead eased

0.3% to $1,984.

For the top stories in metals click