((Corrects to remove $117 million figure in 1st paragraph and...

((Corrects to remove $117 million figure in 1st paragraph and corrects copper production figure to 38,918 from 39,918 in 8th paragraph.))

SYDNEY, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Newcrest Mining Ltd (NCM) on Monday blamed lower gold and copper prices for a 65 percent fall in first-half underlying profit.

The drop in metals prices reduced underlying profit to $63 million in the fiscal first half versus $180 million a year ago, it said.

Newcrest, which mines gold in Papua New Guinea, Australia, Africa and Indonesia, in the last half year switched to reporting in U.S. dollars from Australian dollars and provided the pro forma conversion.

Over the first half, Newcrest sold its gold for an average $1,113 an ounce, $125 less than the year ago period; copper sales over the period were off by 79 cents a pound, the company said.

Like most gold miners, Newcrest in 2016 is expected to benefit from a rise in the price of bullion, which stood at $1,237 an ounce on Monday after last week posting its strongest rally in more than seven years.

Copper prices, though, remain under pressure from waning demand among big consuming countries, such as China.

The London Metal Exchange three-month copper contract CMCU3 on Friday saw its biggest weekly drop in a month MET/L

Newcrest lowered its costs by 5 percent during the first six months of the fiscal year, while copper production fell 23 percent to 38,918 tonnes. Gold output rose 6 percent to 1.204 million ounces.

The company maintained its forecast for full-year gold production of between 2.4-2.6 million ounces.