PERTH, Feb 11 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures rose on Friday
after Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak said he would transfer the
reins of power to his vice president, but would not step down.
The speech sparked more worries that Egypt's unrest would
spread across the Middle East and disrupt oil supply movement,
pushing March crude oil futures up by more than a dollar in
early trading.
FUNDAMENTALS
* On the New York Mercantile Exchange, March crude
rose to $87.51, up 88 cents at 0033 GMT, after climbing more
than $1 to $87.77 in post-settlement trading.
* In London, ICE March Brent settled at $100.87 a barrel.
* U.S. crude's discount against Brent crude rose to a record
$16.09 in New York. <CL-LCO1=R>
* Hosni Mubarak has transferred all powers of presidency to
his vice president, but remains Egypt's "de jure head of state."
* U.S. initial jobless claims dropped more than expected, by
36,000 to a seasonally adjusted 383,000, the lowest since early
July 2008, the Labor Department said.
* Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz is alive, an
adviser to a senior member of the ruling family told Reuters
denying rumors about his health that had triggered buying
across financial markets.
* OPEC raised its oil output to 29.72 million barrels per
day in January, the highest level since December 2008, and up by
around 400,000 barrels per day compared from December 2010, it
said in a monthly report.
* Rising OPEC output and comfortable oil stocks in developed
nations should limit a further spike in oil prices despite
demand hitting an all-time high later this year, the
International Energy Agency said.
* Brent oil prices are about to decline
significantly in the short term to below $90 per barrel on spare
OPEC capacity and rising supply, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
wrote in a report.
MARKETS NEWS
* The Standard & Poor's 500 Index and the Nasdaq
Composite Index eked out gains in the final minutes of
trading as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said he would
delegate powers to the vice president.
* The U.S. dollar drifted higher early in Asia on Friday,
having made solid gains overnight as renewed jitters about the
euro zone debt crisis weighed on the common currency.
* Gold fell on Thursday as the dollar rose after encouraging
U.S. job data, and as safe-haven demand faded as investors
expected Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to step down, even
though that development failed to materialize.
* Copper bounced to a firmer finish on Thursday, as
chart-based buyers returned to the market following a three-day
phase of consolidation that saw prices fall from record levels.
UPCOMING DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0745 France Industrial output mm Dec 2010
0800 OECD IEA Oil Market Report Feb
0900 Italy Industrial output yy WDA Dec 2010
1330 U.S. USDA grain exports Weekly
1330 U.S. Initial jobless claims Weekly
1500 U.S. Whole sale inventories Dec 2010
1530 U.S. EIA natural gas stocks Weekly
1200 Britain BoE rate decision Feb 2011
:: OPEC OPEC Monthly Report Feb
(Reporting by Rebekah Kebede in PERTH, Gene Ramos and Robert
Gibbons in NEW YORK; Editing by Manash Goswami)
