METALS-Copper slides to over three-month low as Middle East war escalates

March 23 (Reuters) - Copper slid to over three-month lows on Monday, with fresh escalation in the Middle East war keeping oil prices high after the U.S. and Iran traded threats.

The most-active copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange declined 1.66% to 92,830 yuan ($13,435.71) a metric ton as of 0230 GMT, after sliding 3.07% to 91,500 yuan, the lowest since December 5.

The benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange dropped 0.69% to $11,847 a ton, following a 1.76% drop that sent it to the lowest since December 19 at $11,720.

Iran threatened on Sunday that it would strike the energy and water systems of its neighbours in the Gulf region to retaliate, after U.S. President Donald Trump warned to hit Iran's electricity grid if it doesn't open the Strait of Hormuz in 48 hours, a fresh escalation of the war now in its fourth week.

The Brent futures dipped after jumping as high as $114.35 a barrel, but were still above $110.

Higher energy costs hurt global growth outlook as they push up costs for households and businesses, fan inflation fears and dim hopes for cuts in interest rates by central banks.

Helping copper reclaim some of its losses were hopes for a recovery in demand from top consumer China. Copper stocks sitting in warehouses registered with SHFE saw their first decline since December 12, according to inventory data published on Friday, down 5.15% week-on-week to 411,121 tons.

Downstream orders have been picking up with buyers turning more active with prices falling, analysts at Chinese broker Jinrui Futures said, noting that domestic inventories have started to drop, and the recent drop in prices is likely to speed up destocking.

Elsewhere on SHFE, aluminium declined 1.11%, zinc dipped 0.11%, tin shed 1.21%, nickel climbed 1.68% and lead nudged 0.12% higher.

Among other metals on the LME, aluminium dropped 0.37%, zinc shed 0.39%, lead dipped 0.34% and tin lost 1.80%. Nickel, meanwhile, rose 0.56%.

Monday, March 23 DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 1500 EU Consumer Confid. Flash Mar ($1 = 6.9092 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Dylan Duan and Lewis Jackson; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)