BEIJING  - London copper prices edged higher for a second day in early Asian trade on Wednesday, as the dollar weakened, making metals cheaper for holders of other currencies, and investors were buoyed by signs of more stimulus from top metals consumer China.       

FUNDAMENTALS

LME COPPER: Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.1 perent at $5,923 a tonne, as of 0141 GMT, extending a 0.4 percent gain from the previous session.

SHFE COPPER: The most-traded March copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange climbed 0.5 percent to 47,100 yuan ($6,955.21) a tonne.

BREXIT: British lawmakers defeated Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit divorce deal by a crushing margin on Tuesday, triggering political chaos that could lead to a disorderly exit from the European Union or even to a reversal of the 2016 decision to leave.

CHINA: China on Tuesday signalled more stimulus measures in the near term, and aim to achieve "a good start to 2019" in the first quarter, as a tariff war with the United States took a heavy toll on its trade sector and raised the risk of a sharper economic slowdown.   

ALUMINA: Norwegian aluminium-maker Norsk Hydro ASA said on Tuesday that Brazil's northern state of Para has lifted a production embargo on its Alunorte alumina refinery but noted that full production will not resume until a federal court follows suit.

ANGLO: Anglo American has promoted a section head it considers to have CEO potential, focusing its attention on internal talent as it begins searching for a successor to the man who steered the mining company through the 2015-16 commodities price slump.

OTHER METALS: Shanghai nickel led the gains, rising as much as 1.5 percent to 93,100 yuan a tonne, its highest since Dec. 3, tracking a 2.5 percent jump in London nickel on Tuesday.

LITHIUM: Chile's nuclear watchdog CCHEN is considering an investigation into potential fraud after an audit found that the agency for decades failed to properly record exports of ultralight battery metal lithium, documents obtained by Reuters show.        

MARKETS NEWS   

Asian shares took a breather on Wednesday after rallying the previous day on Chinese stimulus hopes, with investors assessing Brexit options after British lawmakers trounced Prime Minister Theresa May's deal to pull out Britain from the European Union.           

PRICES   

BASE METALS PRICES: 0142 GMT

Three month LME copper: 5923

Most active ShFE copper: 47090

Three month LME aluminium: 1857.5

Most active ShFE aluminium: 13355

Three month LME zinc: 2474

Most active ShFE zinc: 20570

Three month LME lead: 1974

Most active ShFE lead: 17500

Three month LME nickel: 11620

Most active ShFE nickel: 92970

Three month LME tin: 20670

Most active ShFE tin: 148470

BASE METALS ARBITRAGE                           

LME/SHFE COPPER - LMESHFCUc3: 515.69

LME/SHFE ALUMINIUM - LMESHFALc3: -1267.93                                         

LME/SHFE ZINC - LMESHFZNc3: 482.51

LME/SHFE LEAD - LMESHFPBc3: 1201.51

LME/SHFE NICKEL - LMESHFNIc3: 3675.49                                         

($1 = 6.7719 Chinese yuan)   

(Reporting by Tom Daly, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

© Reuters News 2019