METALS-Copper retreats as ceasefire doubts lift oil, revive slowdown concerns

April 9 (Reuters) - London copper fell on Thursday from a three-week high the day before, as renewed Middle East tensions cast doubt on whether the U.S.-Iran ceasefire would hold, lifting oil prices and reviving concerns over the global economic growth outlook.

Benchmark three-month copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.9% at $12,591 a metric ton, as of 0746 GMT, after hitting its highest level since March 18 on Wednesday and marking its best one-day-gain since early February.

The most-active copper contract SCFcv1 on the Shanghai Futures Exchange gained 0.6% to 97,810 yuan ($14,307.55) a ton, its highest since March 18.

U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to retain military assets in the Middle East until a peace deal with Iran is reached and warned of a major escalation in fighting if it failed to comply.

Oil prices rose about 3% on concerns that supply from the key Middle East producing region may not fully resume. O/R

"We are seeing some natural profit-taking (in copper) after yesterday's strong rally. This, combined with oil heading higher today, is applying downward pressure on metal prices," said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst, KCM Trade.

Higher energy prices have dampened the outlook for metals by raising concerns that an energy shock could squeeze global growth and manufacturing.

Further pressuring prices, copper stocks in LME-approved warehouses MCU-STOCKS on April 8 stood at 385,275 tons, the highest since March 2018.

However, "resilient demand (for copper) due to the energy transition and data-centre growth will keep the market undersupplied by 4–5%, supporting prices," ANZ said in a note.

London aluminium CMAL3 rose 0.1% to $3,456 a ton, while the most-traded Shanghai contract SAFcv1 lost 0.6% to 24,540 yuan a ton.

Elsewhere on the LME, tin CMSN3 fell 1.4%, zinc CMZN3 lost 0.4%, lead CMPB3 was down 0.4% and nickel CMNI3 fell 0.8%.

Among other SHFE base metals, zinc SZNcv1 fell 0.5%, lead SPBcv1 was down 0.1%, tin SSNcv1 lost 0.6%, while nickel SNIcv1 held steady.