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) 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) 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.

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 dipped 0.3% to $2,592.5 a ton, zinc gained 0.5% at $3,090, nickel was up 0.1% to $16,190, lead dropped 0.3% to $2,000 and tin rose 0.2% to $29,580.

SHFE aluminium lost 0.6% to 20,350 yuan a ton, tin fell 0.8% to 248,900 yuan, zinc declined 0.2% to 25,850 yuan, lead dropped 0.9% to 17,380 yuan while nickel advanced 1.2% at 129,110 yuan.

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($1 = 7.2756 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Neha Arora; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Eileen Soreng)