* U.S. economic data, cold weather also help lift oil
* Coming up: API oil inventory data, 4:30 p.m. EST Tuesday
(Recasts, updates prices and market activity)
By Robert Gibbons
NEW YORK, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Brent oil jumped above $101 a
barrel for the first time since 2008 on Monday and U.S. prices
surged above $90 on concern that unrest in Egypt could spread
to Middle East crude producers or disrupt Suez Canal flows.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak overhauled his government
to try to defuse a popular uprising but angry protesters
rejected the changes and said he must surrender power. The Suez
Canal continued to operate normally. []
[]
Prices were choppy earlier, with traders reassessing
Friday's price surge after fears over contagion failed to
materialize at the weekend.
OPEC Secretary General Abdullah al-Badri said the producer
group would boost oil supply in the event of a real shortage,
but did not expect current unrest in Egypt to affect the Suez
Canal or SUMED pipeline oil flows. []
Cold weather supporting heating fuel demand and supportive
economic data from the United States in the form of better
Midwest factory activity and firmer consumer spending also
helped keep bullish price momentum intact.
In London, ICE Brent crude for March <LCOc1> rose $1.36 to
$100.78 a barrel by 12:41 p.m. EST (1741 GMT), having reached
$101.08, the highest since prices reached $103.29 on Sept. 29,
2008.
U.S. crude oil for March delivery <CLc1> rose $2.20 to
$91.54 a barrel, trading as high as $91.75. Analysts and
brokers expect Brent's push above $100 to help U.S. crude
retest resistance at the $92.58 peak from Jan. 3.
The U.S. price strength helped narrow the near-record
discount versus Brent. Brent's spread to U.S. benchmark West
Texas Intermediate crude <CL-LCO1=R> widened to more than $12 a
barrel last week.
"Momentum is up. Traders are buying dips on fears that
things could escalate further in the Middle East and spread to
other countries," said Tom Bentz, broker at BNP Paribas
Commodity Futures Inc in New York.
"Everything is still moving and there is no loss of
shipping. But there are still concerns -- nothing has gone
away."
CONTAGION FEAR
Egypt is not a major oil producer but protests and demands
for political change there come two weeks after Tunisia's
president was overthrown. Investor worries that oil-producing
states in the region may face similar protests are keeping
crude prices lifted.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
For more on Egypt and oil from Reuters Insider:
http://link.reuters.com/wap77r
For a feature on the Suez canal: []
For an analysis on investor risks in Egypt:
[]
For a FACTBOX on energy risks in Egypt: []
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Egypt controls the Suez Canal and the Suez-Mediterranean
(SUMED) Pipeline, which between them moved over 2 million
barrels per day (bpd) of crude and oil products in 2009.
Shipping has so far proceeded as normal through the 192-km
(120-mile) Suez Canal shipping choke point but port operations
have been slowed by the protests. []
OPEC READY TO RESPOND
OPEC ministers will discuss oil output policy on the
sidelines of a conference in Saudi Arabia next month, an OPEC
delegate told Reuters. []
Ministers are scheduled to meet on Feb. 22 in Riyadh with
counterparts from oil-consuming nations and the International
Energy Agency at the International Energy Forum.
Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi believes oil markets are
relatively balanced. Naimi told an industry conference on
Monday that the price spike had more to do with the value of
the dollar and the behavior of oil traders. []
The dollar weakened against a basket of currencies,
dropping 0.49 percent as euro zone inflation topped forecasts,
supporting the European currency. []
(Additional reporting by Gene Ramos and Janet McGurty in New
York, Jessica Donati in London and Alejandro Barbajosa in
Singapore; Editing by Dale Hudson)
