* Suez Canal operations said unaffected by strikes
* Valero shuts Port Arthur, Texas, refinery FCC
* China lifts interest rates for second time in six weeks
* Coming up: API oil data 4:30 p.m. EST (2130 GMT)
(Recasts, updates with settlement prices and market activity)
By Robert Gibbons
NEW YORK, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Brent crude prices rose to near
$100 a barrel on Tuesday as Egypt's political turmoil kept
alive concerns about potential supply interruptions, while U.S.
crude prices ended lower after a volatile session.
Egyptians staged one of their biggest protests yet,
demanding President Hosni Mubarak step down now, their intent
undiminished by the vice president's announcement of a plan to
transfer power. []
Crude oil prices on both sides of the Atlantic bounced
after being pressured early when China moved to tame inflation
with an interest rate increase, the second in just over six
weeks, that revived concern about oil demand growth easing.
U.S. crude futures were lifted intraday on crude supply
disruptions in the United States and Colombia and as gasoline
futures rallied on refinery outages. U.S. crude's weakness came
ahead of weekly inventory reports expected to show domestic
stockpiles rose last week.
In London, ICE Brent crude for March <LCOc1> rose 67 cents
to settle at $99.92 a barrel, having reached $100.42.
U.S. crude oil for March delivery <CLc1> fell 54 cents to
settle at $86.94 a barrel.
Even with the price volatility, Brent's premium against
U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude hit a record high
above $13 a barrel, surpassing the previous record of $12.72
from Jan. 16, 2009, according to Reuters data.
Strikes by workers at companies in the Suez Canal zone will
not affect the canal operations and movement of ships, a senior
canal official told Reuters, but the worker dissatisfaction
reinforced the remaining potential for the region's unrest to
cause oil supply disruptions. []
Saudi Arabia increased production in November and December,
according to a report from the U.S. Energy Information
Administration, which added to price volatility and helped cool
U.S. crude prices, analysts and brokers said. []
U.S. gasoline futures <RBc1> rose nearly 2 percent, getting
lift from news that Valero Energy Corp <VLO.N> shut down a
gasoline-making unit at its 287,000 barrels-per-day refinery in
Port Arthur, Texas. []
Gasoline futures rose, despite U.S. retail gasoline demand
slumping as a massive snowstorm curbed demand. []
U.S. crude inventories were expected to have risen for a
fourth consecutive week, by 2.4 million barrels, according to a
Reuters survey of analysts on Tuesday. []
Distillate stocks, including heating oil and diesel fuel,
were expected to have fallen, while gasoline stocks built.
The industry group the American Petroleum Institute was to
release weekly inventory data at 4:30 p.m. EST (2130 GMT) on
Tuesday.
CHINA INTEREST RATE HIKE
Crude oil prices on both sides of the Atlantic fell
intraday after China moved to tame inflation with an interest
rate increase, the second in just over six weeks.
Copper prices also slumped on the news before ending firmer
as investors decided Chinese demand for oil and industrial
metals would continue despite the efforts of the government to
cool stubborn inflation.
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BREAKINGVIEWS:
-- China tightens too little, too late []
Graphic
-- China rates and inflation http://r.reuters.com/bap87r
Market comments on rate rise []
Analysis on central bank's new clout []
FACTBOX-Who gains from Chinese inflation []
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(Additional reporting by Gene Ramos and Matthew Robinson in
New York and Zaida Espana in London; Editing by Walter Bagley)
