* Brent headed for 22 pct qtrly gain, biggest since Q2 2009
* Obama seeks to wean U.S. off a third of its oil imports
* US gasoline stocks drop, Cushing crude supply jumps to
record
* Coming Up: U.S. weekly initial jobless claims; 1230 GMT
(Updates prices)
By Alejandro Barbajosa
SINGAPORE, March 31 (Reuters) - Brent crude rose 0.8 percent
to $116 on Thursday, heading for its biggest quarterly gain in
almost two years as war, revolutions, and unrest across the
Middle East and North Africa thrust supply constraints to the
forefront of investor concerns.
The global economic recovery also underpinned prices,
although Japan's worst crisis since World War II triggered a
dramatic reality check, resulting in the most turbulent and
volatile quarter for the oil market since the end of 2008.
Brent crude for May <LCOc1> advanced 87 cents on Thursday to
$116 a barrel at 0626 GMT, less than $4 from a 2-1/2-year high
near $120 on Feb. 24. Brent plunged to below $108 in the
aftermath of Japan's earthquake.
U.S. crude <CLc1> climbed 61 cents to $104.88.
Going forward, traders, analysts and investors see a new
floor for prices around $100 a barrel, supported by supply risks
and expanding economies. U.S. private employers added more than
200,000 jobs in March, a report showed on Wednesday, ahead of
government data on March non-farm payrolls due on Friday.
"The second quarter is a good period, and oil demand should
be increasing," said Tetsu Emori, a Tokyo-based commodities fund
manager at Astmax Investments, adding that he expected U.S.
crude to end the year close to $120.
"The world economy should be quite positive, especially
after mid-May, and the downside for crude should be quite
limited because of the geopolitical risk of disruption to supply
in the Middle East and North Africa."
U.S. President Barack Obama has signed a secret order
authorizing covert U.S. government support for rebel forces
seeking to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, government
officials told Reuters on Wednesday. []
The United States is part of a coalition, with NATO members
and some Arab states, which is conducting air strikes on Libyan
government forces under a U.N. mandate aimed at protecting
civilians opposing Gaddafi.
Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa, one of Gaddafi's
closest advisers and a former spy chief, defected and flew to
Britain on Wednesday, a friend said. []
Unrest in Libya erupted in February after revolutions
toppled the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia in January, igniting
protests against decades of autocratic rule in Syria, Yemen and
Bahrain and minor demonstrations in countries including Morocco,
Jordan, Algeria and Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter.
As Saudi Arabia increased production partly to compensate
for dwindling exports from Libya, concerns resurfaced that the
kingdom's spare production capacity was shrinking, leaving world
markets vulnerable to potential bigger disruptions.
RISKS TO DEMAND GROWTH
President Obama on Wednesday proposed to cut U.S. oil
imports by a third over 10 years, a goal that eluded his
predecessors and one seen as extremely ambitious by analysts
sceptical it can succeed. []
Japan's nuclear disaster has raised concern that growth in
the world's third-largest economy may suffer. Japanese
manufacturing activity slumped to a two-year low in March and
posted its steepest monthly decline on record. []
Workers struggling to prevent more radiation from escaping
Japan's crippled nuclear plant face a hellish scenario -- with
every attempt to get it under control seemingly creating
life-threatening problems. []
A final resolution of the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima
Daiichi power station may take decades and experts say there
could be further setbacks, after Japan's strongest earthquake on
record and an ensuing tsunami hit the reactors on March 11.
U.S. GLUT
The U.S. economy probably recorded a second straight month
of solid job growth in March, adding 190,000 payrolls according
to a Reuters survey, proof the labor market has turned the
corner after lagging the broader economic recovery.
[]
"There are growing expectations that number may jump higher
given the U.S. market's recent spate of positive data releases,"
said Ben Taylor, a sales trader at CMC Markets in Sydney.
"If a good number is coming out, that should be positive for
the dollar and push down commodity prices, but not very much;
market sentiment should be getting better," Astmax's Emori said.
The accelerating recovery has yet to be reflected in the
U.S. crude inventories, which last week rose more than
anticipated, government data showed. Stockpiles at the Cushing,
Oklahoma pricing point for benchmark West Texas Intermediate
(WTI) soared to a record of 41.9 million barrels.
A larger-than-expected decline in U.S. gasoline stocks last
week initially supported prices on Wednesday. Supplies have
fallen by nearly 18 million barrels in the first four weeks of
March, the biggest drawdown for the period since at least 1990.
Still, gasoline demand growth in the world's top user is not
stellar. Consumption over the past four weeks fell 0.1 percent
from a year earlier as high prices took a toll on drivers, while
in January demand fell by 1.3 percent, the Energy Information
Administration said on Wednesday. []
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Himani Sarkar)
