* Euro rises ahead of U.S. non-farm payrolls * Coming Up: U.S. non-farm payrolls July; 1230 GMT ECONUS By Susan Thomas LONDON, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Copper was steady on Friday as the dollar fell, but looked vulnerable on renewed worries about the global economy after the European Central Bank failed to take action to solve the euro zone debt crisis. Commodity prices fell on Thursday and copper hit six-week lows after ECB President Mario Draghi failed to offer immediate action to fix the euro zone economy which the market had expected to come via an announcement of large scale bond purchases. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was $7,339 a tonne by 1054 GMT, up slightly from a close of $7,330 on Thursday, when it hit its lowest since June 22. "There is almost perfect correlation between base and precious metals prices, and it a reflection of what is going on in the macro front," RBS strategist Nikos Kavalis said. "There were unwarranted expectations starting from last week of a decisive response by the monetary authorities, until yesterday when it became clear no fireworks were coming. At least not yet." Gold prices rose a touch, recovering some ground lost in four straight session of declines as the dollar eased against the euro. Gold is down nearly 2 percent this week, while copper has fallen around 3 percent, on track for its biggest weekly decline in two months. The euro inched up, taking a breather from two straight days of losses, but looked set for further losses on disappointment over the ECB. A weaker dollar makes commodities priced in the currency more affordable for holders of other currencies. "If you look at the trajectory of the euro, you can see what has been driving prices over the past week," Kavalis said. "More generally, given the weakness of the fundamental markets in July and August we'll be hard pressed to see any decisive move in any of the metals from the fundamental front." GLOOM The ECB's inaction added to gloom over dismal manufacturing sector reports from China, Europe and the United States this week, with only a small gleam of improvement seen in China's small- and medium-sized private sector companies. U.S. non-farm payrolls data, one of the most closely watched barometers of the U.S. economic climate, is due later on Friday. Reuters survey of economists suggested U.S. employers probably added 100,000 new workers last month, with job growth likely picking up only slightly from the previous month. "While the U.S. economy is continuing its recovery, recent indicators suggest that the pace of recovery has eased, which is particularly evident from the slowdown in employment growth since the beginning of this year," National Australia Bank said in a research note. "The Chinese growth outlook appears riddled with risk, with soft investment growth likely to weigh on commodities demand over coming quarters. Taken together, metals demand is likely to remain restrained, which could keep prices at low levels in the near term." LME three-month aluminium was almost flat at $1,846 from $1,844 at the close on Thursday. ANZ sees potential for further losses, to below $1,600 per tonne, which would add pressure on smelters suffering with thin or negative margins. Bosnia's only alumina plant had to halt production on Wednesday after the country's main gas distributor cut supplies because it could not pay its bills. It resumed production on Thursday after agreeing to pay part of its debt. Battery material lead was $1,869 from $1,854 at the close on Thursday and zinc, used in galvanising, was $1,819 from $1,812. Tin was $17,755 from $17,430 and nickel was $15,460 a tonne from $15,250. Metal Prices at 1053 GMT Comex copper in cents/lb, LME prices in $/T and SHFE prices in yuan/T Metal Last Change Pct Move End 2011 Ytd Pct move COMEX Cu 331.40 2.35 +0.71 344.75 -3.87 LME Alum 1846.00 2.00 +0.11 2020.00 -8.61 LME Cu 7332.50 2.50 +0.03 7600.00 -3.52 LME Lead 1868.50 14.50 +0.78 2034.00 -8.14 LME Nickel 15460.00 210.00 +1.38 18650.00 -17.10 LME Tin 17725.00 295.00 +1.69 19200.00 -7.68 LME Zinc 1820.25 8.25 +0.46 1845.00 -1.34 SHFE Alu 15350.00 -5.00 -0.03 15845.00 -3.12 SHFE Cu* 54300.00 -460.00 -0.84 55360.00 -1.91 SHFE Zin 14550.00 -15.00 -0.10 14795.00 -1.66 ** Benchmark month for COMEX copper * 3rd contract month for SHFE AL, CU and ZN

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