COMMODITIES-Metals slide, gold surges as Trump dangles tariffs on key partners

Recasts with gold hitting all-time high, agricultural commodities rebound; adds delay on Canada and Mexico tariffs

By Karl Plume

CHICAGO, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Industrial metals came under pressure on Monday and gold hit an all-time high as worries that U.S. tariffs would curb economic growth riled markets, before the White House later said it would delay duties on Mexico and Canada for a month.

Farm crop commodities rebounded from earlier declines after news that levies on Mexican goods would not be immediately imposed, tempering concerns of a trade war with the top U.S. corn buyer and major soy and wheat importer. Crude oil jumped on fears of supply disruptions.

U.S. stock indexes veered sharply lower after the opening bell but partially recovered by the end of the volatile session. MKTS/GLOB

In three executive orders signed on Saturday, Trump announced 25% tariffs on Mexican and most Canadian imports and 10% on goods from China, with levies on Chinese goods due to start on Tuesday.

Beijing said it would challenge Trump's tariffs at the World Trade Organization. Duties on Mexican and Canadian imports were paused for a month after talks with the White House.

Copper CMCU3 slid to its lowest in four weeks as Trump's tariff on imports from top metals consumer China raised uncertainty over industrial metals' demand. MET/L

"The market is anticipating retaliatory measures, particularly from China, which could further impact metal prices negatively," said Kelvin Wong, OANDA's senior market analyst for Asia Pacific.

Corn Cv1 touched its weakest in three weeks, but veered higher after news of the delay to tariffs on Mexico. Soybeans Sv1 and wheat Wv1 also gained. GRA/

China is the top importer of U.S. soybeans and, along with Mexico, a key buyer of U.S. wheat.

U.S. soybean oil prices BOcv1 rose to their highest in two weeks on fears about tariffs on Canadian vegetable oil, which competes with soyoil as a biofuels feedstock.

"Washington-Ottawa trade war is likely to reduce availability of Canadian rapeseed oil in the U.S. market, which will push up demand for locally produced vegetable oil especially for making biodiesel," said Pranav Bajoria, director at Singapore-based brokerage Comglobal Pte Ltd.

Safe-haven gold XAU= scaled to a fresh all-time high, despite a stronger U.S. dollar, as tariff uncertainty stoked fears of inflation that would dent economic growth.

Oil prices CLc1, LCOc1 jumped as the threat of tariffs on Canada and Mexico, the biggest sources for U.S. crude imports, raised fears of supply disruptions. O/R

Energy products from Canada will attract only a 10% duty, but Mexican energy imports will be charged the full 25% if the tariffs are enacted, White House officials said.

Together, the two countries account for about a quarter of the oil U.S. refiners process into fuels such as gasoline and heating oil.

"Tariffs on Canadian energy imports would likely be more disruptive for domestic energy markets than those on Mexican imports and might even be counterproductive to one of the president's key objectives - lowering energy costs," Barclays analyst Amarpreet Singh said.

(Reporting by Karl Plume in Chicago, Naveen Thukral in Singapore; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Nia Williams)

((karl.plume@thomsonreuters.com; +1 313 484 5285))