MANILA - London copper futures edged lower on Wednesday, pulling back from the previous session's nearly one-month peak, after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was not pleased with recent trade talks between the United States and China.

His comments on Tuesday came after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said over the weekend that the two countries had put the prospect of a trade war "on hold" while they work on a wider trade agreement, which helped revive appetite for riskier assets.

"The shifting sands of trade talks between U.S. and China is likely to see commodities remain volatile," ANZ analysts said in a note.

COPPER: Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.5 percent at $6,944 a tonne by 0236 GMT, after peaking at $6,999 on Tuesday, its loftiest since April 26.

In Shanghai, the most-traded July copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose to a nearly one-month high of 52,180 yuan ($8,186) a tonne, tracking overnight gains in London.

GRASBERG: Global miner Rio Tinto Ltd said it was in discussions to sell its interest in the world's second largest copper mine to Indonesia's Inalum for $3.5 billion.

LEAD: LME lead retreated from a 12-week high, down 0.8 percent to $2,454 a tonne, after what analysts said was a rally driven by Chinese speculators on Tuesday as they bet on potential supply shortages. In Shanghai, lead slipped 0.5 percent to 20,120 yuan per tonne, after hitting 20,465 yuan on Tuesday, its strongest since October 2017.

NICKEL: LME nickel fell 1.2 percent to $14,600 a tonne after recent gains. Nickel remains the best performer among base metals, with a year-to-date gain of more than 14 percent.

LME nickel stockpiles are the lowest since 2014, underlining a deficit in the metal used for stainless steel. "Sentiment has been buoyed by strong demand from the stainless steel sector, as well as growing demand from the electric vehicle market," ANZ analysts said.

MARKETS: The dollar slipped after six straight days of gains as U.S. Treasury yields dipped and investors looked to the minutes of the Federal Reserve's May 1-2 meeting to be released later on Wednesday. Asian shares ticked higher.

NORTH KOREA TALKS: Trump said there was a "substantial chance" his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will not take place as planned on June 12 amid concerns that Kim is resistant to giving up his nuclear weapons.       

 BASE METALS PRICES                                  0236 GMT

Three month LME copper                                  6944

Most active ShFE copper                                  51830

Three month LME aluminium                             2269

Most active ShFE aluminium                            14615

Three month LME zinc                                    3057.5

Most active ShFE zinc                                     23640

Three month LME lead                                    2454

Most active ShFE lead                                    20120

Three month LME nickel                                 14600

Most active ShFE nickel                                108000

Three month LME tin                                     20595

Most active ShFE tin                                    145970

BASE METALS ARBITRAGE                                      

 LME/SHFE COPPER                  LMESHFCUc3           271.1

LME/SHFE ALUMINIUM              LMESHFALc3        2201.86

LME/SHFE ZINC                        LMESHFZNc3         487.67

LME/SHFE LEAD                       LMESHFPBc3          135.23

LME/SHFE NICKEL                   LMESHFNIc3         -1727.63

($1 = 6.3741 Chinese yuan)   

(Reporting by Manolo Serapio Jr.; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)

© Reuters News 2018