BEIJING, Feb 14 (Reuters) - London copper prices edged
higher for a second session in early Asian trade on Thursday as
investors awaited their cue from the latest trade data from top
metals consumer China and the Sino-U.S. trade talks in Beijing.
China is due to report its copper import and aluminium
export numbers for January later in the day.
FUNDAMENTALS
* COPPER: Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange
was up 0.3 percent at $6,142.50 a tonne, as of 0115 GMT,
extending a 0.3 percent gain from the previous session.
* SHFE COPPER: The most-traded March copper contract on the
Shanghai Futures Exchange also added 0.3 percent to
48,310 yuan ($7,146.66) a tonne.
* TRADE: U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on
Thursday he was "looking forward" to trade talks with China as
the two countries were set to begin formal high-level
discussions in Beijing.
* ZINC: Floods in Australia's Queensland state are set to
disrupt the rail delivery of zinc exports to the northern port
of Townsville, with the line likely to be out of action for at
least a month, analysts said on Wednesday. The metal used to
galvanise steel rose by 0.4 percent in London after
ending down 0.3 percent in the previous session.
* SOUTH32: The world's largest manganese miner South32 Ltd
on Thursday posted an 18 percent rise in half-year
underlying profit as a surge in metallurgical coal output and
stronger commodity prices helped boost its bottom-line.
