* Dollar rises to 3-yr high vs a basket of currencies * China trade data will give clues on appetite for metals By Silvia Antonioli LONDON, July 8 (Reuters) - Copper steadied on Monday, after a sharp drop on Friday, as a stronger dollar maintained downward pressure on metal prices, while investors awaited Chinese data for clues on the health of the top metals consumer. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) eased 0.06 percent to $6,785 a tonne by 1003 GMT. It fell more than 2 percent the previous session after data pointing to stronger-than-expected growth of the U.S. job market bolstered concerns that the Federal Reserve could taper off quantitative easing as early as September. The metal has lost about 15 percent so far this year. The dollar rose to a three-year high against a basket of currencies. A stronger dollar makes dollar-priced commodities such as metals costlier for non-U.S. investors. "Copper is starting off slightly on the defensive because the dollar is still fairly strong, and I suspect it will continue to stay under pressure because of concerns over growth," Societe Generale analyst Robin Bhar said. "Maybe it will revisit the very recent lows, but there is no reason to see fresh lows as much, if not all, of the negative news should now be incorporated into the price. The focus will be on Chinese data." China's resolve to revamp its economy to win long-term gains will be tested this month when a slew of data is expected to show growth is grinding towards a 23-year low, with no recovery in sight. China trade data are due on July 10 and GDP numbers on July 15. POSITIVE FACTORS On the bullish side, data on Friday suggested an improvement in physical demand. Stocks of copper , aluminium and lead in warehouses registered with the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) fell to multi-month lows, while stocks of zinc fell to their lowest since late 2010. "We regard the current pessimism exhibited by market participants as exaggerated. In our opinion, metal prices should stabilize, with Wednesday's trade figures from China doubtless playing their part," Commerzbank said in a research note. "After all, metal stocks in China have declined significantly of late, Chinese traders are likely to have utilized the low LME prices and the arbitrage between the LME and the SHFE in recent months to step up their metals purchases." In supply news, Rio Tinto will start exporting copper from the $6.2 billion Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia on Tuesday, the Mongolian government said. Metal Prices at 1012 GMT Comex copper in cents/lb, LME prices in $/T and SHFE prices in yuan/T Metal Last Change Pct Move End 2012 Ytd Pct move COMEX Cu 3.08 0.01 +0.36 365.25 -99.16 LME Alum 1787.75 -24.25 -1.34 2073.00 -13.76 LME Cu 6790.00 10.00 +0.15 7931.00 -14.39 LME Lead 2048.25 18.25 +0.90 2330.00 -12.09 LME Nickel 13404.00 104.00 +0.78 17060.00 -21.43 LME Tin 19214.00 364.00 +1.93 23400.00 -17.89 LME Zinc 1859.75 119.75 +6.88 2080.00 -10.59 SHFE Alu 14225.00 -80.00 -0.56 15435.00 -7.84 SHFE Cu* 49030.00 -850.00 -1.70 57690.00 -15.01 SHFE Zin 14415.00 -70.00 -0.48 15625.00 -7.74 ** Benchmark month for COMEX copper * 3rd contract month for SHFE AL, CU and ZN SHFE ZN began trading on 26/3/07

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