* U.S. crude and Brent above $80 for whole of April
* U.S. economic growth slows in 1st qtr but spending jumps
* Coming up: US personal income for March 1230 GMT Monday
(Updates prices)
By Christopher Johnson
LONDON, April 30 (Reuters) - Oil rose on Friday and was on
track for a third straight monthly gain, driven by expectations
of global economic recovery and hopes of a bailout package to
help Greece avoid debt default.
Benchmark U.S. crude futures have risen around 2.5 percent
this month despite bulging U.S. oil inventories, Greece's
fiscal troubles, Iceland's volcanic eruption, a lawsuit against
Goldman Sachs and the likelihood of tighter financial market
regulation.
Oil has been supported by evidence that the world economy
has begun to grow again after its long slowdown.
U.S. crude for June <CLc1> rose 81 cents to $85.98 a barrel
by 11:50 a.m. EDT (1550 GMT) after hitting an intraday high of
$86.17, not far below an 18-month high of $87.09 hit on April
6. April is set to be the first month since September 2008 when
the front-month contract has traded continuously above $80 a
barrel.
ICE Brent crude for June <LCOc1> gained 28 cents to $87.18,
trading about $1.20 above U.S. benchmark futures, also known as
West Texas Intermediate (WTI). WTI traded at discounts of more
than $3 to Brent earlier this week under pressure from soaring
inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub for crude
oil traded at the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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U.S. gross domestic product expanded by 3.2 percent in the
first quarter, the Commerce Department said on Friday in its
first estimate, marking three straight quarters of growth after
the worst recession since the 1930s. []
U.S. President Barack Obama said the report was an
"important milepost" on the road to U.S. economic recovery, but
efforts to help businesses create new jobs remain his focus.
"We've still got a long way to go on our road to recovery,"
Obama said." []
Greece is preparing severe austerity measures to secure an
aid package, easing fears the debt crisis will spread across
Europe, and boosting the euro. [] []
Euro zone finance ministers will meet on Sunday to discuss
Greece and will hold a news conference afterward. A spokesman
said the group would likely give a figure for the euro
zone-International Monetary Fund loans through 2012 for Greece.
[]
U.S. DATA
U.S. economic growth was slightly slower than expected in
the first quarter, Friday's figures showed, held back by
inventories and exports, but resurgent consumer spending
offered evidence of a sustainable recovery.
Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast GDP, which measures
total goods and services output within U.S. borders, growing at
a 3.4 percent rate in the first three months of 2010 after a
5.6 percent growth pace in the fourth quarter. The
first-quarter rise was the largest since the first quarter of
2007.
"The GDP report was perfect in that it supports the view of
stronger oil demand going forward," said Phil Flynn, analyst,
PFGBest Research Chicago.
"First quarter growth was up, however, the 3.2 percent rise
was not a blockbuster number that could hint at the Fed raising
interest rates again. It in fact bolsters the Fed's statement
that interest rates will be low for an extended period."
Meanwhile, a giant oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico could be
a supportive factor for U.S. crude futures but negative for
Brent if it began to disrupt oil imports in the U.S. Gulf, said
Olivier Jakob, consultant at Petromatrix. []
"That would result in crude oil stock draws in the United
States and the backed-up crude oil would force some redirection
of barrels towards Europe, which would then pressure the Brent
timespreads lower and force Brent back to a discount to WTI."
(Additional reporting by Gene Ramos in New York; Editing by
Lisa Shumaker)
