* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
* British parliament approves Brexit deal, but rejects
timetable
* Traders search for positives amid Brexit chaos
* Currencies look for clues on U.S.-China trade war
By Stanley White
TOKYO, Oct 23 (Reuters) - The pound steadied on Wednesday
after an overnight fall as Brexit hung in the balance, with the
UK Parliament still divided on how, when or even if to engineer
Britain's departure from the European Union.
The yen rose against the U.S. dollar and the Australian
dollar as some investors sought a safe haven amid doubts about
efforts to scale back a bruising trade war between the United
States and China.
On Tuesday, UK lawmakers voted by 329 to 299 in favour of
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Brexit plan, but then opposed
Johnson's extremely tight timetable to complete the legislative
process in three days by 322 to 308 votes. It is now up to the EU to decide whether to extend Britain's
Oct. 31 deadline for its departure from the bloc, although there
is hope Britain can avoid the worst case scenario, which is
leaving the EU without any deal in place.
With no major economic data scheduled in Asia on Wednesday,
traders will be left to ponder whether Britain will hold a
general election to break the impasse.
Investors are also closely watching for signs of a thaw in
the U.S.-China trade war, which has proven to be a big risk to
financial markets and global economic growth.
"The pound will adjust in a narrow range for the time
being," said Junichi Ishikawa, senior foreign exchange
strategist at IG Securities in Tokyo.
"For now, the risk of a no-deal Brexit has receded, but
there are still political uncertainties."
The pound GBP=D3 traded at $1.2880, stabilising after a
0.7% drop on Tuesday.
Against the euro, the pound EURGBP=D3 was steady at 86.38
pence following a 0.5% decline in the previous session.
Sterling initially rose on Tuesday after parliament approved
a second reading of the Brexit deal, but then fell after
lawmakers rejected the timetable.
It was the first time parliament has signalled support for a
deal on how Britain would leave the EU, but Johnson had warned
prior to the votes that he would push for an election if his
timetable for Brexit were defeated.
The dollar index .DXY against a basket of six major
currencies stood at 97.469, holding on to a 0.2% gain posted on
Tuesday.
The dollar JPY=EBS fell 0.17% to 108.32 yen. The
Australian dollar AUDJPY=EBS , whose fortunes are closely tied
to global trade and commodity prices, fell 0.17% to 74.28 yen.
The United States and China are trying to finalise the first
phase of a trade agreement before an Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation summit in Chile in mid-November.
An exclusive Reuters report that one of the U.S. advisors to
U.S. President Donald Trump on trade talks with China will leave
government could introduce some uncertainty about future trade
talks.