Updates prices

By Polina Devitt

LONDON, March 27 (Reuters) - Copper and aluminium prices rose in volatile trade on Friday as U.S. President Donald Trump extended a deadline for striking Iran's energy plants, even though markets appeared sceptical about the chances of the two sides agreeing on a deal.

Benchmark three-month copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.2% at $12,164 per metric ton by 1605 GMT.

Copper, widely used in power and construction, has lost 9% since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28, threatening global economic growth and fanning inflation.

The U.S. expects its operation in Iran to conclude in "weeks, not months," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday.

"Prices lack fundamental support and are expected to remain volatile, dominated by macro news and investor flows," Macquarie analysts said in a note.

"An end to the Iran war will likely see prices recover in the short term, but with over 1 million tons of visible stocks built since the start of 2025 and ongoing surpluses forecast, there is a high risk of a downward price correction."

Sentiment for copper and other growth-dependent metals was supported on Friday by data showing that industrial profits in top metals consumer China grew 15.2% in January-February.

Copper inventories in warehouses monitored by the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 12.6% this week to 359,135 tons, while the Yangshan copper premium SMM-CUYP-CN, a gauge of China's appetite for imported copper, closed the week at $68 a ton after hitting a nine-month high of $69 during the week.

Meanwhile, LME aluminium CMAL3 rose 0.6% to $3,288.5 a ton as worries about exports from Gulf region producers, accounting for 9% of global supply, caused concerns over near-term availability of the metal.

The premium on the cash LME aluminium contract against the three-month forward CMAL0-3 was last at $61 a ton on Friday, its highest since 2007.

Among other LME metals, zinc CMZN3 gained 1.0% at $3,110, lead CMPB3 added 0.2% to reach $1,894.50, while tin CMSN3 jumped 3.9% to $45,805 and nickel CMNI3 was down 0.3% at $17,190.