GLOBAL MARKETS-World stocks rise on strong China data

* World stocks hit 15-month highs after China data

* Dollar falls on rising risk appetite

* U.S. stocks soften ahead of earnings season

(Updates with U.S. markets, changes byline, dateline, previous: LONDON)

By Manuela Badawy

NEW YORK, Jan 11 (Reuters) - World stocks rose on Monday hitting 15-month highs on stronger-than-expected Chinese trade data, reviving bids on global economic recovery, while the dollar fell broadly as risk appetite increased.

U.S. stocks edged lower as investors took a breather after a rally that drove the S&P 500 higher for 12 of the last 14 sessions. They also braced for the start of earnings season.

The dollar was down following Friday's weak U.S. jobs data and comments from a Federal Reserve official that interest rates in the United States are likely to stay low for quite some time.

Global equities measured by the MSCI All-Country World Index <.MIWD00000PUS> rose 0.64 percent after rising to the highest since late September of 2008. Emerging stocks hit 17-month highs rising 1.13 percent, following a 74 percent rally last year.

"The Chinese numbers were great which is why we were so strong first thing this morning, but now we have seen the profit takers come out," said Jim Wood Smith, head of research at Williams de Broe in London.

"We have got a lot of data coming out over the next few weeks and the fourth-quarter earnings season in the United States is about to start, so there is every reason for investors to stay on the sidelines."

Growth in China's exports and imports last month pushed commodities higher with gold rising 1.58 percent to a 5-week high, copper jumping 3 percent and aluminum advancing more than 2 percent.

Exports rose 17.7 percent from a year earlier, dwarfing the 4.0 percent rise forecast by economists and breaking a 13-month streak of year-on-year declines; imports surged 55.9 percent, much more than the 31.0 percent increase markets had expected.

Crude oil prices slipped to $82.68 a barrel on forecasts for warmer U.S. weather and technical resistance, after an earlier high near $84 a barrel.

DOLLAR & BONDS

A surge in Chinese exports increased optimism the global economy is recovering and boosted risk appetite, pushing investors to drop safe-haven dollars.

The dollar index <.DXY> fell 0.71 percent at 76.919. The euro rose 0.84 percent at $1.4533 having hit its highest level in more than three weeks at $1.4557. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar fell 0.77 percent at 91.90 from a previous session close of 92.610.

The U.S. currency also continued to be pressured after data on Friday showed U.S. employers cut 85,000 jobs last month, disappointing many in the market who had expected the U.S. economy to stop losing jobs. [ID:nN0747110].

"The combination of the weak jobs report last week and the realization that the Fed is going to keep rates low for a long time has put a stop to the recent dollar rally," said Vassili Serebriakov, a currency strategist, at Wells Fargo Bank.

Meanwhile, yields on short-dated U.S. government securities eased after the jobs data argued for low Federal Reserve interest rates, while impending supply weighed on longer-dated maturities. Those dynamics caused the spread between two- and 10-year yields to widen to a record 287 basis points, from 285 basis points on Friday.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top shares closed down 0.1 percent at 1,063.82 points, after touching a new 15-month high of 1,074.50.

Japanese markets were closed for the Coming of Age Day.

(Additional reporting by Joanne Frearson and Atul Prakash in London, Vivianne Rodrigues in New York; Editing by Andrew Hay)