(Rewrites throughout, adds comment and changes dateline from

Singapore)

By Pratima Desai

LONDON, July 8 (Reuters) - Copper prices held firm on

Tuesday, supported by a lower dollar while gains were capped by

worries about economic slowdown and demand growth caused by U.S.

President Donald Trump's tariffs and rising inventories, traders

said.

Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME)

was up 0.1% at $9,835 a metric ton at 1030 GMT towards the

three-month high of $10,020.50 a ton hit last week.

The sliding U.S. currency has made dollar-priced metals

cheaper, potentially boosting demand for industrial metals and

copper.

The United States sent formal notices to 14 countries on

Monday announcing new tariffs ranging from 25% to 40%, set to

take effect on August 1, postponed from July 9.

Trump also warned an extra 10% tariff could be imposed

on BRICS nations including Brazil, Russia, India and China if

they pursue what he described as "anti-American" policies during

their summit in Brazil.

Stocks of copper in LME-registered warehouses

were at 102,500 tons, having climbed 13% or 11,875 tons since

June 27 and easing concern about availability on the LME market.

But traders say deliveries need to be larger.

Cancelled warrants for metal earmarked for delivery at

36% indicate another 37,100 tons of copper are due to leave the

LME system and large warrant holdings are still dominating trading in nearby contracts.

The premium for buying copper tomorrow and selling it the

day after - known as tom-next - has flared out to $13 a ton

ahead of settlement next week, when short position

holders will have to cut or rollover their contracts to sell.

Meanwhile, aluminium inventories in LME

storage have risen 47,450 tons to 384,350 tons since June 25 and

helped reverse the premium for the cash over the three-month

forward into a discount .

Three-month aluminium rose 0.3% to $2,582, zinc

gained 0.8% to $2,706, lead was up 0.4% at

$2,045, tin added 0.4% to $33,410 and nickel slipped

0.3% to $15,130 a ton.