METALS-Copper takes breather after rally, dollar weighs

* LME copper slips but up 3 percent in week

* Copper heads for fifth weekly rise

* Analysts raise doubt whether the rally can continue

* Tin jumps nearly 5 percent on fund buying

(Recasts, updates prices and comments, pvs SINGAPORE)

LONDON, April 17 - Copper ticked down on Friday, as a strong dollar prompted investors to cash in profits but after a rally that pushed it to a six-month high this week, while tin rallied nearly 5 percent on fund buying.

Copper <MCU3 for three-months delivery on the London Metal Exchange was down at $4,705 a tonne by 0902 GMT, versus Thursday's close of $4,729 a tonne as the euro hit a new one-month high against the dollar.

"I think what we're seeing is just a little bit of consolidation," said analyst Gayle Berry at Barclays Capital. "We've had such strong gains this week so far, the market's just taking a breather," she said.

Upbeat economic data from the United States, one of the top copper consumers in the world, coupled with continuous drawdowns in inventories has sent copper to a six-month high just below $5,000 a tonne earlier this week.

Prices have surged 54 percent so far this year in London, and are heading for a 3 percent gain this week, their fifth consecutive weekly increase.

"LME metals are likely to fall back quickly. The previous gains in copper were a little too high," said Judy Zhu, an analyst at Standard Chartered.

On Friday, inventories in LME registered warehouses fell by 5,575 tonnes to 469,625 tonnes, having fallen nearly 80,000 tonnes since mid-February. Stocks in Shanghai warehouses posted a rise of 3,969 tonnes.

"Metal keeps flowing into China but at these prices we strongly believe the State Reserves Bureau is out of the market. No one really seems to know where it's going," a trader in Sydney said. Some analysts thought the trend is not sustainable.

Copper cathode imports have surged exceeding the early 2007 peak but total copper imports were up more modestly as scrap and concentrate imports fell, analysts in Citi said in a research note.

"Is it sustainable? Probably not," the bank said. "Cathode imports are being driven by a shortage of scrap, stock building and SRB buying, and is probably well ahead of demand."

China's refined copper output fell 0.2 percent from the previous month to 319,400 tonnes, up 5.2 percent from a year earlier.

Dominant positions controlling more than 90 percent of cash warrants on LME stocks and fund buying have bolstered tin prices.

Three-months tin was at $12,000 a tonne versus Thursday's $11,550 a tonne.

"It gets onto the fund and CTA radar and they start buying it -- so fund buying and stops triggered," an LME trader said. "The stocks haven't changed a great deal but they're small stocks so there's always the worry for a potential squeeze."

Supply worries for the metals were reflected in the premium for cash material over the three-month contract at $88 a tonne. That was below levels above $200 seen last week, but it above the $32.5 seen in early February.

Lead was supported by similar factors. The premium for lead was small at about $3, but compared with a discount of about $16 in late March.

Lead was at $1,485 from $1,504, while zinc was at $1,513 from $1,495 on Thursday. Aluminium fell to $1,460 a tonne from a last quote of $1,82/1,493 and nickel to $12,301 a tonne from $12,450.