METALS-Copper little changed but on track for weekly loss

(Recasts paragraph 1, updates after Shanghai market close) NEW DELHI, Dec 13 (Reuters) - London copper prices were little changed on Friday and headed for weekly losses on the back of a stronger U.S. dollar and a lack of clarity around China's stimulus measures. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) CMCU3 was up 0.02% at $9,088 per metric ton, as of 0721 GMT, and was 0.4% lower for the week so far. The most-traded January copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) SCFcv1 fell 0.8% to 74,790 yuan ($10,279.56) a ton. The U.S. dollar rose to a 2-1/2-week high against major peers, making greenback-priced metals more expensive for holders of other currencies. FRX/ China on Thursday pledged to increase the budget deficit, issue more debt and loosen monetary policy to maintain a stable economic growth rate as it gears up for more trade tensions with the United States as Donald Trump returns to the White House. The readout of an annual agenda-setting meeting, however, did not disclose the size of the stimulus measures. "We highlight that the market is poised for a period of significant price volatility, with anticipated U.S. dollar strength and shifts in trade policies following a Trump victory acting as major headwinds, while the outlook remains heavily contingent upon China's economic momentum," said BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions. LME aluminium CMAL3 dipped 0.3% to $2,592.5 a ton, zinc CMZN3 gained 0.5% at $3,090, nickel CMNI3 was up 0.1% to $16,190, lead CMPB3 dropped 0.3% to $2,000 and tin CMSN3 rose 0.2% to $29,580. SHFE aluminium SAFcv1 lost 0.6% to 20,350 yuan a ton, tin SSNcv1 fell 0.8% to 248,900 yuan, zinc SZNcv1 declined 0.2% to 25,850 yuan, lead SPBcv1 dropped 0.9% to 17,380 yuan while nickel SNIcv1 advanced 1.2% at 129,110 yuan. For the top stories in metals and other news, click TOP/MTL or MET/L ($1 = 7.2756 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Neha Arora; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Eileen Soreng) (([email protected];)) (( For related news and prices, click on the codes in brackets: LME price overview RING= COMEX copper futures 0#HG: All metals news MTL All commodities news C Foreign exchange rates FX= SPEED GUIDES LME/INDEX ))