Copper gave up early gains to trade lower on Thursday, tracking equity markets downwards after oil prices hit their highest in more than seven weeks on escalating hostilities in the Middle East. Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.6% at $13,725.50 a metric ton at 0930 GMT, having climbed as much as 0.5% earlier in the session on concerns over dwindling inventories. Oil prices rose for a fifth day, jumping as much as 5% to $98.75 a barrel after Yemen’s Houthis said they attacked two oil tankers as part of a blockade on Saudi Arabia. Higher energy prices are weighing on the outlook for ... (full story)