METALS-Copper hits two-month low on oil surge, hawkish Fed

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) (Reporting by Lewis Jackson and Dylan Duan; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)