* U.S. consumer spending rises in March
* Oil spill trims U.S. offshore natural gas supply
* Coming up: API inventory data released on Tuesday
(Recasts, updates prices)
By Robert Gibbons
NEW YORK, May 3 (Reuters) - Oil prices ended higher on
Monday after reaching a 19-month peak as economic optimism
lifted Wall Street and on concerns that an oil spill off the
U.S. Gulf Coast could disrupt short-term supply.
"Nearby crude and gasoline futures advanced ... today
mainly on the coattails of an upsurge in the stock market. The
Gulf coast oil spill likely added to today's gains," Jim
Ritterbusch, president at Ritterbusch & Associates in Galena,
Illinois, said in a note.
U.S. crude futures prices pushed above $87 a barrel after
Wall Street was boosted by a government report that showed U.S.
consumer spending increased as expected in March.
[]
Separately, the Institute for Supply Management said that
the U.S. manufacturing sector grew in April at the fastest pace
in almost six years.
The reports came after details of the 110 billion-euro
($145 billion) rescue package for Greece helped European shares
turn positive.
U.S. crude <CLc1> rose 4 cents, or 0.05 percent, to settle
at $86.19 a barrel.
Monday's high trade of $87.15 eclipsed the previous 2010
peak of $87.09 struck on April 6 and was the highest
front-month crude price since $89.82 traded on Oct. 9, 2008.
Brent crude <LCOc1> rose $1.50 to settle at $88.94 a barrel
and traded as high as $89.58, also the highest since October
2008.
Brent's unusual premium to U.S. crude partly reflects high
inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma, hub that is the delivery
point for the U.S. crude oil benchmark, analysts said. Brent
has traded above U.S. crude only about 10 percent of the time
in the last 20 years. <CL-LCO1=R>
Stronger demand in India, China and other Asian economies
also was cited as a factor lifting Brent above U.S. crude.
Traders will be anticipating weekly reports on U.S. oil
inventory levels from industry on Tuesday and the government on
Wednesday. A Reuters survey of analysts on Monday yielded a
forecast for higher crude oil stockpiles. []
On Saturday, the U.S. government said two offshore natural
gas production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico were shut as a
safety precaution, the first sign that the oil slick was
affecting the region's energy production.
But shipping operations at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port
were normal despite the offshore oil spill, a spokeswoman for
the port said on Monday.
BP Plc <BP.L>, its reputation battered by the oil spill
threatening the U.S. Gulf Coast, said on Monday it was working
to stop the leak and promised to pay cleanup and compensation
claims. []
Crude futures posted gains on Monday despite the dollar's
strength. The dollar rose against the euro and a basket of
currencies <.DXY> on the strong U.S. manufacturing data and
lingering concerns about Greece. []
One factor that analysts said might limit demand growth in
oil and other economically sensitive commodities was China's
move on Sunday to raise the proportion of deposits that lenders
must keep in reserve at the central bank, another step in a
campaign to curb inflation. []
(1 euro=$1.32)
(Additional reporting by Gene Ramos in New York, Alex Lawler
in London and Fayen Wong in Perth; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
