Adds background, aluminium price forecasts

July 15 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs expects copper prices to dip in the short term, as global supply pressures ease following a rush of shipments into the U.S. ahead of a 50% import tariff set to take effect on August 1, the bank said in a note on Tuesday.

The Wall Street bank lowered its August forecast for London Metal Exchange $(LME.AU)$ copper prices to $9,550 per metric ton from a previous $10,050.

The tariff , announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on July 8, triggered a wave of copper imports in recent months as buyers moved to get ahead of the new costs. That stockpiling has temporarily alleviated tightness in non-U.S. markets, Goldman noted.

"We expect the LME copper price to decline in the near term as the risk of an ex-US copper shortage has been reduced,” the bank said.

"These flows should slow substantially once the tariff is implemented, bringing an end to the ex-US tightening and relieving LME prices."

Goldman added that the price downside could deepen if speculative investors reduce their positions amid heightened U.S.-led trade tensions.

The bank maintained a bullish long-term view, keeping its 2025 year-end copper forecast at $9,700 per ton pointing to very low inventories outside the U.S., which will take months to replenish after the tariff comes into force.

Goldman also reaffirmed its long December 2025 COMEX-LME copper arbitrage trade, saying the market is "still significantly under-pricing the highly likely 50% tariff rate."

The bank forecast average copper prices of $10,000 per ton in 2026 and $10,750 in 2027. It also projected LME aluminium prices of $2,400 per ton in 2025 and $2,230 in 2026.

(Reporting by Ishaan Arora and Sherin Elizabeth Varghese in Bengaluru;)

((Ishaan.Arora@thomsonreuters.com;))