Dec 3 (Reuters) - Aluminium prices gained on Friday amid low inventories as local media reported that China plans to raise the benchmark price for long-term coal contracts in 2022, traders said.

Three-month aluminium on the London Metal Exchange gained 1.2% to $2,631 a tonne by 0800 GMT, while the most-traded January aluminium contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange closed up 0.5% at 18,975 yuan ($2,979.18) a tonne.

China's state planner is considering to raise annual thermal coal prices for long-term contracts to 700 yuan per tonne in 2022 from 535 yuan, Chinese media Caixin reported.

"Coal has been a major raw material for electricity, so if power cost has increased that means for major users of electricity their cost will also increase," said CRU analyst He Tianyu.

LME inventories of the aluminium have dropped to 889,575 tonnes, the lowest since September 2007.

Elesewhere, LME nickel rose 0.7% to $20,085 a tonne, zinc climbed 1.7% to $3,200 and copper was up 0.3% at $9,524.5 a tonne.

Concerns over the supply of industrial metals were also triggered by China's five-year plan aimed at the green development of its industrial sectors.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Officials at the World Health Organization on Friday urged Asia-Pacific countries to prepare for a surge in COVID-19 cases fuelled by the Omicron variant.

* China's embattled property developer Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd said it had failed to secure the minimum 95% approval needed from its offshore bondholders to extend the maturity of a $400 million note that is due next week, raising the risk of a default.

* China's property downturn is expected to continue into the first half of 2022, with home prices and sales falling as tight credit policies and a looming property tax dampen demand, a Reuters poll showed.

* ShFE nickel rose 0.6% to 148,890 yuan a tonne, zinc gained 0.9% to 23,265 yuan a tonne, copper gained 0.5% at 69,460 yuan a tonne.

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($1 = 6.3692 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Eileen Soreng in Bengaluru and Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Ana Nicolaci da Costa)