Oct 6 (Reuters) - Copper prices in London were set for their biggest weekly drop in nearly 11 months on Friday as a firm dollar and high inventories weighed, while top consumer China was closed for holidays.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was almost flat at $7,898.50 per metric ton by 0627 GMT. It was down 4.5% on a weekly basis, set for the worst weekly performance since the week ended Nov. 18 last year.

The dollar index was set for its 12th consecutive week of gains, making greenback-priced metals more expensive to holders of other currencies.

LME copper inventories climbed to 169,900 tons, the highest since May 2022.

"The primary catalyst for these trends has been the impact from destocking previously trapped cathode in the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) due to a temporary operation specific government export ban," Goldman Sachs analysts wrote.

"Once these DRC off-warrant units have been destocked, copper faces acutely low inventory cover that leaves vulnerability to any tightening shock," they said in a report.

Markets in China are shut for public holidays from Sept. 29 to Oct. 8.

LME aluminium was almost unchanged at $2,231 a ton, following four consecutive sessions of losses. On a weekly basis, it was down 4.9%, on track for the biggest weekly decline since Feb. 10.

LME nickel was set for the fifth consecutive week of decline, but was rising 0.1% to $18,505 a ton.

LME zinc advanced 0.1% to $2,480 a ton, but it down 6.4% week-on-week, the biggest weekly fall since Dec. 16 last year.

LME lead rose 0.5% to $2,146.50 a ton, but on a weekly basis it was down 1.1%, set for the third straight week of decline.

LME tin climbed 0.8% to $24,325 a ton. It was the only contract set for a weekly gain across the base metals complex, up 1.7%.

For the top stories in metals and other news, click or (Reporting by Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Nivedita Bhattacharjee)