March 19 (Reuters) - Copper slid to its lowest in more

than two months on Thursday, as oil prices spiked following

Iranian attacks in the Middle East, stoking inflation fears and

reinforcing a hawkish U.S. central bank outlook, while rising

inventories added pressure.

The most-active copper contract on the Shanghai

Futures Exchange lost 3.24% to 95,680 yuan ($13,875.51) a metric

ton as of 0315 GMT, after hitting the lowest since December 25

at 95,400 yuan.

And the benchmark three-month copper on the London

Metal Exchange lost 0.96% to $12,275 a ton, after declining to

$12,230, the lowest since December 30.

Copper's loss came amid traders assessed rising oil prices

after Iran attacked energy facilities across the Middle East and

the U.S. Federal Reserve's hawkish tone, a pressure that also

weighed across the base metal complex.

Brent futures surged above $110 a barrel, following

Iran's attack on several oil plants across Saudi Arabia, the

United Arab Emirates and Qatar in retaliation for strikes on its

own energy infrastructure in South Pars and Asaluyeh.

Rising oil prices fuel inflation concerns, bolstering

expectations of tighter monetary policy and weighing on

growth-linked metals such as copper.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday addressed rising energy

prices, saying it would "push up overall inflation" but noted

that "the scope and duration of the potential effects on the

economy" was too soon to know in his speech after the U.S.

central bank's widely-expected decision to keep interest rate

unchanged.

Copper also came under pressure from mounting stock levels.

Copper stocks in LME warehouses continued to rise

after hitting the highest since 2019, totalling 334,100 tons as

of Tuesday.

Elsewhere on SHFE, aluminium declined 0.85%, zinc

lost 2.07%, lead dropped 0.36%, nickel

tumbled 2.70% and tin slid 3.82%.

Among other LME metals, aluminium dropped 0.38%,

zinc lost 0.54%, lead was unchanged, nickel

tumbled 1.96% and tin dipped 0.30%.

Thursday, March 19

DATA/EVENTS

0700 UK Claimant Count Unem Chng Feb

0700 UK ILO Unemployment Rate Jan

0700 UK HMRC Payrolls Change Feb

1200 UK BOE Bank Rate Mar

1230 US Initial Jobless Clm 14 Mar, w/e

1230 US Philly Fed Business Indx Mar

1315 EU ECB Refinancing Rate Mar

1315 EU ECB Deposit Rate Mar

1400 US New Home Sales-Units Jan

: : Japan JP BOJ rate Decision 19 Mar

($1 = 6.8956 Chinese yuan renminbi)