* Middle East turmoil, Libya conflict keep oil supported
* J.P. Morgan raises 2011 oil price forecasts
* Coming up: CFTC positions data at 3:30 p.m. EDT Friday
(Recasts, updates prices and market activity, changes byline
and moves dateline from previous LONDON)
By Robert Gibbons
NEW YORK, March 25 (Reuters) - Brent oil steadied near $116
in choppy, thin trade on Friday as traders gauged the threat to
supply from Middle East unrest and Libya fighting as well as
concerns over demand in quake-hit Japan and debt-laden Europe.
A huge street protest against President Ali Abdullah Saleh
in Yemen, Syrian demonstrations against the government of
President Bashar al-Assad and protests in Bahrain and by Saudi
Shi'ites kept concerns about the region's unrest in focus.
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Rebel forces and those loyal to Libyan leader Muammar
Gaddafi clashed as Western warplanes struck at armor used by
the government to crush the revolt. []
Investors eyed the threat to oil demand from Japan, where
radiation fears escalated after workers suffered burns as they
tried to cool a nuclear power station and the government sowed
confusion over whether it was widening an evacuation zone.[]
Brent crude futures for May delivery <LCOc1> were little
changed, down 2 cents at $115.70 a barrel by 11:54 a.m. EDT
(1554 GMT), having seesawed between $115.33 and $116.13.
U.S. May crude futures <CLc1> rose 6 cents to $105.66 a
barrel, swinging between $104.50 and $105.90.
Brent and U.S. crude have stalled ahead of 2011 peaks. The
May Brent may run into resistance ahead of its contract peak of
$118.42, before approaching the 2011 front-month intraday high
of $119.79 struck on Feb. 24.
U.S. crude has been unable to move above its 2011 high of
$106.95 struck on March 7.
The spread between Brent and the U.S. benchmark West Texas
Intermediate crude <CL-LCO1=R>, down 31 cents at $10.05 a
barrel, was choppy on Friday, swinging from $9.83 to $11.24,
but remaining well off its March 1 record above $17.
"Middle East concerns are still in the forefront but the
fundamental supply situation is not bullish," said Jacob
Correll, commodity analyst at Summit Energy Services Inc in
Louisville, Kentucky.
"We are looking at many variables and it's tough to
pinpoint at any given time which are the most important ones to
consider."
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More on Middle East unrest: [] []
Libya graphics http://link.reuters.com/neg68r
Interactive graphic http://link.reuters.com/puk87r
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With an expected summer demand boost and supply
uncertainty, J.P. Morgan analysts headed by Lawrence Eagles
raised oil price forecasts for 2011 for Brent and U.S. crude.
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"So long as ongoing problems in the Middle East continue to
elevate risks of a further supply disruption, there is a strong
likelihood of a price spike in the second quarter as the market
demands additional oil to meet summer demand," J.P. Morgan said
in a research note.
(Additional reporting by Gene Ramos in New York, Christopher
Johnson in London and Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore; Editing
by Dale Hudson)
