* Brent touches $117.90, highest in almost four weeks
* U.S. crude touches $107.65, highest since September 2008
* Oil pares gains after China manufacturing data
* Coming Up: U.S. non-farm payrolls for March; 1230 GMT
By Alejandro Barbajosa
SINGAPORE, April 1 (Reuters) - Brent crude was steady above
$117, after earlier touching near a four-week high, as investors
awaited an expected positive U.S. March payroll report due later
on Friday for clues to demand prospects by the world's largest
oil importer.
Brent for May <LCOc1> shed 10 cents to $117.26 a barrel at
0324 GMT after earlier touching $117.90, the highest price since
March 7 and less than $2 from a 2-1/2-year high of almost $120
reached in February.
U.S. crude <CLc1> rose 36 cents to $107.08 after earlier
touching $107.65, an intraday peak since September 2008.
Oil prices gained traction in the second half of this week
after a report on Thursday showed U.S. jobless claims fell last
week and data pointed to improving employment in the Midwest.
The U.S. economy probably recorded a second straight month
of solid job growth in March, when non-farm payrolls rose by
190,000 according to a Reuters poll, proof the labor market has
turned the corner after lagging the broader economic recovery.
[]
On Friday, Asian shares rose as markets digested news that
China's official purchasing managers' index rose in March from a
six-month low, but was still a touch under the Reuters median
forecast. []
"The Chinese data is stronger than last month, but slightly
lower than expected," said Serene Lim, a Singapore-based oil
analyst at ANZ Bank.
"The market is expecting some positive payroll data from the
U.S. later today. In the past two days, the financial markets
have been the main driver of higher crude oil prices, but in the
back of every investor's mind there is the unrest in the Middle
East and that is supporting the market."
MIDEAST
In Libya, rebels on Thursday cheered the defection of the
country's foreign minister as a sign that Muammar Gaddafi's rule
was crumbling, but U.S. officials warned he was far from beaten
and made clear they feared entanglement in another painful war.
[]
Libya's top oil official said on Thursday he remained in
Tripoli and the country was continuing to produce some oil,
although output was much reduced. []
In the Mideast Gulf, Bahrain has stepped up arrests of cyber
activists and Shi'ites, with more than 300 detained and dozens
missing since it launched a crackdown on pro-democracy protests,
the opposition said on Thursday. []
Bashar al-Assad, the President of minor oil exporter Syria,
has set up a committee to look into replacing a decades-old
emergency law with anti-terrorism legislation after a wave of
demonstrations for greater freedoms. []
(Editing by Ed Lane)
