Britain's FTSE falters as commodity stocks crumple

* FTSE 100 down 0.3 pct

* Weak oil and metals prices hit miners and oil stocks

* Shire (Xetra: S7E.DE - news) rises after ADRs rallied in New York

By Sudip Kar-Gupta

LONDON, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index slipped lower on Tuesday, weighed down by a drop in energy and mining stocks as metals and oil prices weakened.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was down by 0.3 percent at 6,530.46 points in early session trading, leaving it some 8 percent below a record high of 7,122.74 points reached in April.

Miners such as Anglo American (LSE: AAL.L - news) and BHP Billiton (NYSE: BBL - news) fell as copper prices dropped towards six-year lows, while weak oil prices also put pressure on the shares of BP and Royal Dutch Shell (Xetra: R6C1.DE - news) .

The oil and metals sectors have come under pressure due to concerns over China's economy, given China's role as a major global consumer of commodities.

"I think the oil price could fall further, although I've been buying into BP and Shell (LSE: RDSB.L - news) because they offer up good dividend yields," said Beaufort Securities sales trader Basil Petrides.

Pharmaceuticals group Shire outperformed to rise 2 percent.

Traders attributed Shire's advance to the fact that the company's U.S (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) -listed shares rallied towards the end of trading overnight to end up off their intraday lows, with the Nasdaq Biotech Index rising 2.1 percent on Monday.

The FTSE 100 has given up its gains made earlier in the year, and is currently down nearly 1 percent since the start of 2015. (Editing by Alison Williams)