(Recasts, adds analyst comment and London dateline)

By Polina Devitt

LONDON, July 12 (Reuters) - Copper prices edged up on

Friday but were on track for a weekly decline under pressure

from a softer demand outlook in top metals consumer China and

high exchange stockpiles.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was

up 0.1% at $9,798 per metric ton by 1003 GMT. It has declined

1.5% so far this week.

China's data on Friday showed total imports unexpectedly

shrank and hit a four-month low, while exports rose 8.6%.

Chinese bank lending jumped less than expected in June, while

annual growth of outstanding total social financing (TSF), a

broad measure of credit and liquidity in the economy, slowed to

8.1%, a record low.

"Near-term risks remain to the downside for demand for

copper, particularly related to China," said ING commodities

analyst Ewa Manthey.

"The prolonged crisis in the property sector does not show

signs of bottoming out yet with little hope for recovery

near-term. The low level of housing starts will continue to

weigh on copper demand looking ahead, given the lag between

starts and metals usage."

ING expects copper prices to decline further before they

move upwards in the fourth quarter.

Copper, used in power and construction, is down 12% since

reaching a record high of $11,104.50 on May 20, but is still up

14% since the start of 2024.

Still-high global prices suppressed buying appetite in

China, where unwrought copper imports declined to a 14-month low

in June.

Meanwhile, copper inventories in the LME-registered

warehouses are hovering near the highest in more

than 2-1/2 years. Inventories in warehouses monitored by the

Shanghai Futures Exchange fell 1.7% this week after

hitting a four-year peak last month.

LME aluminium shed 0.2% to $2,472 a ton after

hitting a three-month low of $2,465, and nickel rose

0.2% to $16,825 after hitting $16,770, lowest since March 28.

Zinc dropped 1.4% to $2,917, tin lost 2.4%

to $33,810, and lead moved 0.6% lower to $2,185.