* Libya says oil could get closer to $100 by end of 2010
* Caution before U.S. Federal Reserve decision on Wednesday
* Technicals show oil could rise towards $84.55 []
* Coming up: API oil inventory data, 2030 GMT
(Recasts with prices, comment, detail)
By Christopher Johnson
LONDON, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Oil jumped more than $1 per barrel
on Tuesday after OPEC member Libya said oil producers would find
prices of $100 a barrel more comfortable because of higher food
prices and a weaker dollar.
Benchmark U.S. crude for December <CLc1> was trading at
around $84.00 per barrel by 1250 GMT, up $1.05, after having
reached an intra-day high of $84.14, adding to gains of nearly 2
percent the previous session.
Shokri Ghanem, chairman of Libya's National Oil Corp, told
Reuters he thought oil prices, trading at just below $84 before
his comments, would get closer to $100 by the end of the year.
[]
ICE Brent <LCOc1> climbed 87 cents to $85.49.
Ghanem, the top oil official for Libya, said the dollar had
fallen and prices of the other commodities had risen.
"I think that we can get closer to $100. There is a sort of
tacit compensation for the increase in the prices of the other
commodities. The price is inching up and I think it will be
closer to $100," he said.
The Libyan official's comments came a day after top oil
exporter Saudi Arabia shifted upwards from price range of
$70-$80 it has backed for around two years, saying oil at
between $70 and $90 a barrel was comfortable for consumers.
[]
QE2
The comments also came ahead of an expected decision by the
Federal Reserve on Wednesday to pump more money into the U.S.
economy in a second round of "quantitative easing," also known
as QE2.
The U.S. central bank is widely expected to decide to buy
around $500 billion in longer-term Treasuries over about six
months in a move that could encourage more dollar weakness.
The dollar fell against a basket of currencies on Tuesday
<.DXY>, adding extra support to oil and commodities. A fall in
the dollar makes dollar-denominated commodities cheaper. []
Traders and analysts were wary ahead of the Fed's move,
expected at the end of a two-day meeting starting on Tuesday.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
For a graphic of returns from a range of assets since the
Fed began hinting it would launch a new round of QE, click:
http://link.reuters.com/kyw48p
For a graphic of commodities so far this year, click:
http://link.reuters.com/kew48n
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For much of this year, crude oil prices have been stuck
between $70 and $80 per barrel, a range that OPEC has said for
the last two years it has seen as ideal for both producers and
consumers.
But on Monday Saudi Arabia appeared to raise this range.
Naimi's comments were understood to signal the world's top
oil exporter could allow prices to climb as high as $90.
Industry group the American Petroleum Institute will issue
its latest U.S. crude oil inventory data later on Tuesday.
Analysts expect stockpiles in the world's largest energy
consumer to have risen for the fourth time in five weeks last
week as imports increased. []
(Editing by Jane Baird)
