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.
MARKETS NEWS
Asian stock markets started in a cautious mood as investors hoped for progress in the latest Sino-U.S. tariff talks while bracing for China trade data that are expected to show further falls in both exports and imports.
DATA/EVENT AHEAD (GMT) *0200 China Prelim Trade Jan 0700 Germany GDP Flash Q4 1000 Euro Zone GDP Flash Estimate Q4 1330 U.S. Initial Jobless claims w/e Feb. 9 1330 U.S. PPI Final Demand Jan 1330 U.S. Retail Sales Dec 1500 U.S. Business Inventories Nov Bank of England policymaker Jan Vlieghe to deliver a speech on the outlook for the economy in Britain and globally * No precise release time PRICES
BASE METALS PRICES 0115 GMT Three month LME copper 6142.5 Most active ShFE copper 48310 Three month LME aluminium 1859.5 Most active ShFE aluminium 13385 Three month LME zinc 2608 Most active ShFE zinc 21460 Three month LME lead 2022.5 Most active ShFE lead 16730 Three month LME nickel 12395 Most active ShFE nickel 98610 Three month LME tin 21075 Most active ShFE tin 148900 BASE METALS ARBITRAGE LME/SHFE COPPER LMESHFCUc3 72.17 LME/SHFE ALUMINIUM LMESHFALc3 -1168.31 LME/SHFE ZINC LMESHFZNc3 200.73 LME/SHFE LEAD LMESHFPBc3 335.68 LME/SHFE NICKEL LMESHFNIc3 3583.57 ($1 = 6.7598 Chinese yuan)