METALS-Copper falls but still notches up 3rd weekly gain LONDON,...

METALS-Copper falls but still notches up 3rd weekly gain
LONDON, March 27 (Reuters) - Copper tracked losses in oil and fell to its lowest level of the week on Friday as traders waited for comments from the Federal Reserve, but the metal still clocked up its third straight weekly gain helped by mine closures in key producer Chile.
Oil fell as fears about the disruption of Middle East crude shipments from Yemen's conflict eased, deterring investments in commodity basket funds that include metals like copper.
The rally in the dollar sputtered on Friday as bullish bets lost some steam ahead of comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. Analysts said the long-term uptrend in the dollar remained in place, however.
A strong dollar makes dollar-priced metals costlier for European and other non-U.S. investors.
"We're just seeing some profit-taking. I think it's a blip on the (near-term) road higher," said William Adams, head of research at Fast Markets.
"Fundamentals are slightly better now with the various supply disruptions, but there's no reason to get too bullish medium-term ... China is struggling with lower growth," he said.
Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange ended down 1.9 percent at $6,005 a tonne, having earlier hit a one week low of $6,046.50.
Copper hit its highest level since Jan. 2 on Thursday at $6,294.50, and posted gains for the week of 0.4 percent - its first three-week winning streak since mid-2014.
Chile's Codelco, the world's No. 1 copper producer, said it was gradually reopening mines in the north of the country that were closed on Wednesday due to heavy rains, but that its Salvador mine remained shuttered.