* U.S. private sector job creation jumps in November
* China factory gauge rises to seven-month high
* EIA says U.S. crude inventories unexpectedly rise
* Coming up: U.S. jobless claims data, Thursday
(Recasts, updates with settlement prices and market
activity)
By Gene Ramos
NEW YORK, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose more than 3
percent on Wednesday as private sector jobs in the U.S. posted
the biggest gain in three years and factory activity in China
climbed to a seven-month high, boosting investor confidence
about demand.
News the United States would be ready to support an
enlarged European bailout package for debt-laden euro-zone
economies eased, for the moment, concerns about Europe's fiscal
problems and lifted the euro against the dollar, prompting more
risk taking in oil and other commodities.
"From the depths of despair yesterday that resulted in a
sell-off, there is a rash of positive economic data everywhere
you look today, and that pulled prices up," said Phil Flynn, an
analyst at PFGBest Research in Chicago.
The day's rally was led by U.S. gasoline futures, which
closed at their highest level in almost seven months, on tight
supplies in the U.S. East Coast and a snag at the 300,000
barrels-per-day refinery of Irving Oil Ltd in Saint John, New
Brunswick, which delivers gasoline to the New York Harbor.
[]
U.S. crude for January delivery <CLc1> settled up $2.64, or
3.1 percent, at $86.75 a barrel, the highest close since Nov.
11. It rebounded from a 2 percent slide on Tuesday.
U.S. January gasoline <RBF1> ended 11.36 cents higher, or
5.2 percent, at $2.3004 a gallon, the highest settlement since
May 4. <RBc1>
ICE Brent crude <LCOc1> rose $2.95, or 3.4 percent, to end
at $88.87 a barrel, the highest close since Nov. 10.
UPBEAT U.S., CHINA DATA
Jobs in the U.S. private sector rose by the biggest margin
in three years [] and manufacturing posted its
16th consecutive month of expansion, though the pace tapered
off slightly in November.[]
In China, the official purchasing managers' index (PMI), a
gauge of factory activity, climbed to a seven-month high in
November. []
U.S. crude oil inventories rose 1.1 million barrels last
week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said, against
the forecast for a 900,000 drawdown in a Reuters poll. []
East Coast gasoline stocks fell 937,000 barrels last week,
one of only two regions where gasoline supplies declined in
that period, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information
Administration released midday. Overall, U.S. gasoline stocks
rose modestly last week, EIA data showed.
Crude initially rose earlier, guided by data released on
Tuesday by the industry group American Petroleum Institute
which showed that crude stockpiles fell 1.1 million barrels
last week. []
Oil prices also gained as the U.S. dollar weakened against
the euro and a basket of currencies <.DXY>. A weaker dollar
makes dollar-priced commodities cheaper for holders of other
currencies.
U.S. crude prices are likely to average $110 a barrel in
2012, investment bank Goldman Sachs <GS.N> said in a research
note. It also reiterated its forecast that prices for 2011
would average $100. []
The euro rebounded against the U.S. dollar on hopes the
European Central Bank would agree to steps to alleviate the
region's debt crisis and after a U.S. official said the United
States would be ready to support the extension of the European
Financial Stability Facility via an extra commitment of money
from the International Monetary Fund. []. []
However, a U.S. Treasury Department spokesman later said
the U.S. was not discussing an extra commitment right now.
[]
(Additional reporting by Robert Gibbons in New York; Alex
Lawler in London; Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore; editing by
Sofina Mirza-Reid)
