(Updates throughout)
By Margaret Orgill
LONDON, May 2 (Reuters) - Oil rebounded over $114 a barrel
on Friday after three straight days of falls, after
better-than-expected U.S. jobs data eased worries about a deep
recession in the world's top crude consumer.
News that the Cano Limon Covenas oil pipeline in Colombia
had been shut down following a rebel bomb attack also boosted
the crude market.
U.S. light crude for June delivery <CLc1> rose as high as
$114.24 but the slipped to $113.90 at 1400 GMT, up $1.38 on the
day's opening level and well above the session lows of $111.78.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> was $1.68 higher at $112.18.
The U.S. government said on Friday that the economy lost
just 20,000 jobs last month, compared with forecasts of losses
of 80,000. []
"The numbers are still suggesting a mild recession but maybe
they ease fears of a deep or prolonged downturn, and to that
extent they would be supportive to the oil market," said Mike
Wittner of Societe Generale.
Earlier, news of bombing raids by Turkish warplanes on
Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq overnight on Thursday, had
supported oil prices although there were no reports any impact
on crude output from the region. []
Oil had steadily fallen since hitting a record high of
$119.93 on Monday, tracking a recovery in the dollar and as
demand in No.1 consumer, the United States, wanes on the back of
surging fuel costs and wider economic woes.
The dollar hit a two-month high against the yen on Friday
after U.S economic data reinforced expectations the Federal
Reserve will keep interest rates on hold for a while.
Analysts said a strengthening U.S. dollar remains the main
downside risk for oil prices, which could fall to as low as $100
should the dollar gain more ground.
"We expect that this recent reversal of fortunes for crude
oil prices may continue to hold for a few more weeks at least,
with great volatility, guessing that there may be a mini-rally
for the U.S. dollar in the works," First Energy Capital said in
a research note on Friday.
The resumption of crude supplies from Nigeria and the North
Sea also weighed on prices.
Exxon Mobil Corp <XOM.N> said it had reached a deal with a
Nigerian oil union to end an eight-day strike which had shut
down the company's 800,000 barrel-per-day output in Nigeria and
that it was resuming production.
In Britain, the main crude processing unit at the
Grangemouth refinery resumed production and the diesel-making
hydrocracker is due to restart this weekend.
"We still expect a pull-back from current levels in the near
term, but a fall-back would leave us at a higher base from which
crude prices are expected to firm again in the summer-autumn
period," BNP Paribas analyst Harry Tchlinguirian said in a note.
(Additional reporting by Santosh Menon, Fayen Wong in Perth,
Editing by James Jukwey)
