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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