METALS-Copper in limbo as traders await Iran war, Fed signals

(Adds brokerage comment, updates prices)

April 21 (Reuters) - Copper prices lacked direction on Tuesday as investors waited for news on whether peace talks between the United States and Iran would go ahead, as well as a Federal Reserve chair confirmation hearing that could provide clues on interest rates.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was flat at $13,275 per metric ton as of 0920 GMT, after ending down 0.5% in the previous session, when hopes for a second round of U.S.-Iran talks in Pakistan came and went.

The United States expressed confidence that the talks would still take place and a senior Iranian official said Tehran was considering joining, but significant hurdles and uncertainty remain as the end of a ceasefire looms.

"The lack of directional move suggests that, for now, the complex is waiting for clearer signals from macro and geopolitical developments," brokerage Sucden Financial said in a note on industrial metals.

The dollar index nudged up 0.2%, making greenback-denominated metals more expensive for holders of other currencies.

Investors were also focused on Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsh's Senate hearing on Tuesday, which will test his independence from a White House that had criticised a Fed led by Jerome Powell multiple times for failing to cut rates sooner.

In China, refined copper output rose to a monthly record in March, showing no cutbacks despite last year's vow by smelters to trim output by 10% to counter falling processing fees.

Elsewhere, aluminium edged down 0.1% to $3,553 a ton, while zinc was the biggest gainer on the LME, adding 1.1% to $3,446.50. Investors were likely hedging their short positions of zinc, used to galvanise steel, by buying futures, one trader said.

Lead climbed 0.5% to $1,983.50, tin inched up 0.1% to $50,580 and nickel also nudged up 0.1% to $18,255. Nickel contracts on the Shanghai Futures Exchange will be opened to overseas traders for the first time from today's evening session in China. (Reporting by Tom Daly; additional reporting by Dylan Duan and Lewis Jackson; Editing by Eileen Soreng, Subhranshu Sahu and Janane Venkatraman)