(Adds analyst comment and dateline, updates prices)

By Eric Onstad

LONDON, March 19 (Reuters) - Copper prices sunk to a

three-month low on Thursday on worries that surging oil prices

will hit global growth at the same time the market is swamped

with plentiful inventories.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal

Exchange gave up 2.5% to $12,091 a metric ton after dropping to

$12,034, its lowest since December 24.

"What higher oil prices do is curb demand across the

economy, and if you curb demand that just means less metal being

used," said Carsten Menke, analyst at Julius Baer in Zurich.

"We also have a broader risk-off wave in financial markets,

which is impacting copper."

Benchmark Brent oil prices jumped to their highest in more

than a week to over $119 a barrel after Iran attacked energy

facilities across the Middle East following Israel's strike on

its South Pars gas field, a major escalation.

The most-active copper contract on the Shanghai

Futures Exchange lost 4.5% to close at 94,430 yuan ($13,686.30)

a ton after declining to the lowest since December 19.

The escalation in the war and spike in oil prices rattled

investors, sparking a slump in equity markets while the dollar

was steady.

A firmer dollar index makes commodities priced in the

U.S. currency more expensive for buyers using other currencies.

Traders also warily eyed the growing pile of copper building

up in exchange-certified warehouses, with another 1,475 tons

arriving in LME sheds, daily data showed on Thursday.

That lifts the total to 335,425 tons, the highest since

August 2019 and up 135% so far this year.

"Inventories have been building up for many weeks, which was

largely disregarded, but seemingly market participants are now

realizing that," Menke said.

His price target for LME copper in three months time is

$11,500.

Among other LME metals, aluminium dropped 2.3% to

$3,321 a ton, zinc lost 1.5% to $3,086, lead

gave up 1.2% to $1,890, nickel slid 2.6% to $16,700 and

tin tumbled 5% to $42,800.

Lead hit an 11-month low, zinc touched its weakest in three

months while tin dropped to its lowest since January 6.

($1 = 6.8996 Chinese yuan)