* China copper premiums at 18-month low
* GRAPHIC-2018 asset returns: (Updates with closing prices)By Zandi ShabalalaLONDON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Copper eased on Tuesday as marketsawaited remedial action by the United States and China after thetwo countries' weekendagreement on a 90-day ceasefire in theirdamaging trade dispute. Other metals, however, clung on to the previous session'sgains, powered by a weaker dollar. At the G20 summit this weekend, Washington and Beijing agreedto hold off from further tariffs for 90 days, pausing a disputethat had dragged down metals and equity markets.Markets remain sceptical, however, that full resolution willbe achieved soon."The G20 has always been long on rhetoric and short onsubstance, so now we need to see some instant action takingplace," said Societe Generale metals specialist Robin Bhar.U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday held out thepossibility of an extension of the 90-day trade truce but madeclear he would revert to tariffs if the two sides could notresolve their differences. Three-month benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange(LME) ended 1.4 percent down at $6,209 a tonne, erasing the bulkof Monday's 1.6 percent gain.
TRADE: The United States expects China to cut tariffs onU.S. car imports and end intellectual property theft and forcedtechnology transfers as the countries move towards a broadertrade deal, a White House official said on Monday. METALS FLOOR: "Initial G20 euphoria soon gave way to therealisation that nothing has actually been resolved," BrokerageMarex Spectron said in a note. "Weekend events probably raisethe floor to the (metals) complex, although whether that leadsus to some sort of new panacea is highly debatable."COPPER PREMIUMS: The premium for copper imports into China,the world's biggest copper consumer, sank to an 18-month low onMonday in a sign that demand for physical metal is waning aftera buying spree. TECK: Canadian mining company Teck Resources , has agreed to sell a 30 percent stake in its QuebradaBlanca copper mine expansion in northern Chile to Japan'sSumitomo for $1.2 billion.ALUMINIUM: A Japanese aluminium buyer has agreed to pay aglobal producer a premium of $85 a tonne over the benchmarkprice for shipments in January to March, the lowest in more thantwo years, two sources involved in pricing talks said onTuesday. ZINC STOCKS: LME inventories of zinc touched their lowestsince February 2008 at 111,750 tonnes, having halved sincemid-August.The plunging stocks pushed the premium for cash LME zincover the three-month price to more than $100 a tonne,close to a 20-year high touched on Friday. .
PRICES: Aluminium was flat at $1,974 a tonne, zinc rose 0.2 percent to $2,589, lead was up 2.2percent at $2,007, tin finished 1.6 percent up at$19,175 and nickel rose 1 percent to $11,140.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Top base and precious metals analysis - GFMS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Additional reporting by Tom DalyEditing by Ed Osmond and David Goodman)