COMMODITIES-Oil rises on Mideast; gold and metals down

* Oil up on Middle East tensions

* Gold gives up early gains; eyes on dollar

* London copper down; Shanghai metals rally seen short-lived

By Sambit Mohanty

SINGAPORE, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Oil and gold surged 3 percent and 1 percent respectively on Monday, before giving up early gains, as investors snapped up safe haven assets following Israel's offensive against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

Crude found support from an Iranian military commander's call for an oil boycott over Israel's offensive, a Russian gas supply row and evidence of OPEC's compliance with output cuts, while gold traders watched the dollar, which held near a three-week high against the yen.

Asian stocks hit a two-month high on Monday and some currencies rose, with investors betting the global economy will start to recover later this year. Traders expect geopolitical risks to support prices of commodities .CRB, which have gained about 10 percent since Christmas.

Copper on the London Metal Exchange was down more than 1.5 percent, although Shanghai copper and zinc futures stormed 6 percent higher on their first trading day of the New Year, chasing sharp gains in London on Friday. Grains fell more than 1 on demand woes as traders feared the market had been overbought.

U.S. crude for February delivery CLG9 was up 85 cents a barrel at $47.19 by 0521 GMT, but off an earlier high of $48.68. Some traders are beginning to reckon that the slump of more than $110 from a $147 record high last July has been overdone.