Copper slips to three-month low

LONDON, Mar 21 (Reuters): Copper slid to three-month lows on Wednesday along with zinc and aluminium as expectations for another U.S. interest rate hike and worries over the prospect of a global trade war stoked concerns over the demand outlook for industrial metals.

Copper, chiefly used in construction, is down for a fifth session on the London Metal Exchange, ahead of the Federal Reserve's decision on U.S. interest rates later.

Markets are expecting the Fed to announce a quarter-point hike after European markets close, but are awaiting guidance on whether three or four are planned for 2018 as a whole.

"(We believe) there will be a rate hike in the short term, and of course that's not positive for base metals," ABN Amro analyst Casper Burgering said.

"It's really macroeconomic events that are giving prices direction. We will have to wait for some good fundamental news before we see prices increase again."