* Dollar rises to four-year high against basket of currencies * Copper to fall to $6,200 in 12-mth horizon - Goldman Sachs * Coming Up: U.S. housing starts, building permits 1230 GMT (Updates prices, adds comment, detail; previous SYDNEY) By Harpreet Bhal LONDON, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Copper slipped on Thursday, pressured by a sharp rise in the dollar after the U.S. Federal Reserve signalled interest rates could rise faster than expected. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) slipped 0.4 percent to $6,902 a tonne at 0958 GMT, reversing small gains in the previous session. The U.S. central bank on Wednesday renewed its pledge to keep interest rates near zero for a "considerable time", but also indicated it could raise borrowing costs faster than expected when it starts moving. The outlook for future interest rates lifted the dollar to a four-year high against a basket of currencies, in a move that makes commodities priced in the U.S. dollar more expensive for holders of other currencies. "We think the dollar will appreciate further against the euro and so this will continue to put pressure on metals prices," said Daniel Briesemann, an analyst at Commerzbank. Prices have lost momentum since hitting a one-week high at $6,992 a tonne earlier this week, but are still well above a 12-week low of $6,734 hit on Sept. 11. "If U.S. economic numbers continue on the better side, then guess what? The December meet is going to be hawkish, which would be dollar-favourable, which would be mostly negative for commodities," said analyst Dominic Schnider of UBS Wealth Management in Singapore. Also putting pressure on copper prices, China's new home prices fell in August for a fourth straight month, underlining a deepening downtrend in the property market that is increasingly weighing on the broader economy. After a strong performance in 2013, China's real estate market has softened as sales have slowed and banks have become increasingly cautious about lending to developers and homebuyers. "Data showing a weak property sector in China is also weighing on the market. This negative data shows the concerns about China are not going away anytime soon," Briesemann said. Partly as a result, China's central bank is injecting a combined 500 billion yuan ($81.35 billion) of liquidity into the country's top banks, according to media reports, a sign that authorities are stepping up efforts to shore up a faltering economy. But analysts and traders do not expect any impact to be sustained. "These central bank liquidity promises always provide a boost to asset markets, but tend not to last very long once the knee-jerk buying is done," said broker Triland in a note. "They are attempts to stimulate demand in a quiet market and that is what the reports from China are telling us; that metal demand has slackened since the Qingdao port fraud as financing has become much more problematic for importers."

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