METALS-Copper pressured by US dollar strength, China data

(Recasts and updates prices after Shanghai market close) NEW DELHI, Dec 10 (Reuters) - London copper prices drifted lower on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar strengthened, and data from top consumer China showed exports grew at a slower pace in November as the threat of tariff increases by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump loomed. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) CMCU3 eased 0.4% at $9,199 per metric ton, as of 0712 GMT. The most-traded January copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) SCFcv1 was up 0.5% to 75,130 yuan ($10,371.91). The U.S. dollar was steady against its major rivals and edged to its strongest this month versus the yen as traders looked ahead to a U.S. inflation reading on Wednesday for further clues on the pace of Federal Reserve easing. FRX/ A stronger dollar makes greenback-priced metals more expensive for holders of other currencies. Meanwhile, China's exports grew at a slower pace in November than the bumper month before, while imports unexpectedly shrank, in a worrying sign for the world's No. 2 economy as Donald Trump's imminent return to the White House brings fresh trade risks. Separately, China's copper imports rose in November to a one-year high, customs data showed on Tuesday, fuelled by shipments from Africa and purchases to restock domestic inventories. The market's focus is also on China's Central Economic Work Conference meeting this week, where key targets and policy directions will be set for the next year. "We expect additional economic supports from China's authorities to keep commodity demand buoyant," ANZ analysts said in a note. LME aluminium CMAL3 was down 0.1% at $2,584.5 a ton, zinc CMZN3 was up 0.1% to $3,130, lead CMPB3 decreased 0.07% to $2,066, tin CMSN3 dropped 0.4% to $29,785, while nickel CMNI3 eased 0.5% to $15,920. SHFE aluminium SAFcv1 was down 0.2% at 20,295 yuan a ton, tin SSNcv1 was up 1.7% at 248,240 yuan, nickel SNIcv1 slipped 0.2% to 126,820 yuan, while zinc SZNcv1 was up 1.4% at 25,775 yuan and lead SPBcv1 eased 0.03% at 17,670 yuan. For the top stories in metals and other news, click TOP/MTL or MET/L ($1 = 7.2436 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Neha Arora; Editing by Savio D'Souza, Mrigank Dhaniwala and Janane Venkatraman) (([email protected]))