(Adds analyst comment, scrap data, updates prices) BEIJING, Jan...

(Adds analyst comment, scrap data, updates prices)

BEIJING, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Copper prices were flat on Tuesday amid a persistent weak dollar, even as official data showed top producer China churned out a record volume of refined copper in December, suggesting the world's biggest copper consumer is well supplied.

A weak dollar makes metals cheaper for holders of other currencies and supports prices, and the greenback's dive as a result of the U.S. government shutdown had seen copper climbing 0.4 percent on Monday.

"We think recent copper price rebound is mostly driven by dollar weakness," Argonaut Securities wrote in a note. "Any dollar weakness reversal may weigh down on copper prices, in our view."

While China's refined copper output hit an all-time high in December, Argonaut noted that unwrought copper imports fell by 5 percent in 2017.

"The reduced import appetite reflects China's sluggish copper demand, especially in the power sector," it added.

FUNDAMENTALS

• LME COPPER: Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange CMCU3 was flat at $7,067 a tonne by 0510 GMT, having gained 0.4 percent in the previous session.
• SHFE COPPER: The most-traded March copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 was also unchanged at 53,600 yuan ($8,377.62) a tonne.
• USD: The dollar index <.DXY> was steady, with the currency remaining near three-year lows after a short-lived rally following the deal to re-open the U.S. government.
• CHINA: China's refined copper output jumped by 16.7 percent year-on-year to a record high in December, as smelters looked to churn out as much metal as possible ahead of a fall in treatment charges for copper concentrate.
• SCRAP: China's imports of scrap copper fell 19.8 percent in December from a year earlier, customs data showed on Tuesday, as the country continues a clampdown on taking foreign waste.

• OTHER METALS: Aluminium CMAL3 and nickel CMNI3 were hardest hit in a broad-based metals sell-off on Tuesday, slipping 0.6 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.
• ALUMINIUM: China's central Henan province churned out more aluminium than neighbouring Shandong in 2017 for the first time in years, becoming the nation's top-producing region.

• MONGOLIA: Global miner Rio Tinto , (RIO) will set up a new office in the Mongolian capital, separate from its giant Oyu Tolgoi project, to focus on exploration and local ties, strengthening its commitment to one of the world's greatest copper prospects.
• CRYPTOCURRENCIES: Swiss-based commodities fund Tiberius Group plans to make a foray into cryptocurrencies with the launch of what may be the first digital money underpinned by physically deliverable metals including industrials such as aluminium and copper.
• For the top stories in metals and other news, click [TOP/MTL] or [MET/L]

  MARKETS NEWS

• Asian stocks advanced on Tuesday after U.S. senators struck a deal to end a three-day government shutdown, sending Wall Street's main indexes to record highs, while the dollar inched down against the yen after the Bank of Japan kept policy steady.

  DATA AHEAD (GMT) 1000 Germany ZEW economic sentiment Jan 1500 U.S. Richmond Fed composite index Jan 1500 Euro zone Consumer confidence flash PRICES

  0528 GMT Three month LME copper CMCU3 7066 Most active ShFE SCFcv1 53590 copper Three month LME CMAL3 2236.5 aluminium Most active ShFE SAFcv1 14640 aluminium Three month LME zinc CMZN3 3412 Most active ShFE zinc SZNcv1 26105 Three month LME lead CMPB3 2606.5 Most active ShFE lead SPBcv1 19525 Three month LME nickel CMNI3 12650 Most active ShFE SNIcv1 97830 nickel Three month LME tin CMSN3 20665 Most active ShFE tin SSNcv1 146370 LME/SHFE COPPER LMESHFCUc3 872.38 LME/SHFE ALUMINIUM LMESHFALc3 -1994.05 LME/SHFE ZINC LMESHFZNc3 261.75 LME/SHFE LEAD LMESHFPBc3 -613.22 LME/SHFE NICKEL LMESHFNIc3 2090.3

($1 = 6.3980 Chinese yuan renminbi)

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