* Crude prices at 30-month highs on fear unrest may spread
* Bonds prices gain from safe-haven buying
* Global stocks fall as oil concerns prompt growth worries
(Adds opening of U.S. markets, changes byline, dateline,
previous LONDON)
By Herbert Lash and Jeremy Gaunt
NEW YORK/LONDON, Feb 22 (Reuters) - World stocks tumbled
and safe-haven assets rose on Tuesday as revolt in Libya drove
oil prices to 30-month highs, prompting fears unrest could
spread to other major oil suppliers and disrupt global growth.
Crude oil prices rallied in New York and London, where
prices for North Sea Brent <LCOc1> touched a high of $108.57 a
barrel before paring some gains as concerns about oil supplies
chilled the appetite for assets perceived as risky. For details
see: []
Libya's Muammar Gaddafi used tanks, helicopters and
warplanes to fight a growing revolt, witnesses said on Tuesday,
and refugees fleeing into Egypt told of a wave of violence and
crime. []
In Tripoli, residents told Reuters there was no visible
security force presence on the streets, a day after reports
that warplanes had bombed portions of the capital and
mercenaries had shot civilians.
Libya is by no means the world's largest oil producer,
ranking third in Africa after Nigeria and Angola, but investors
expressed concern about the spread of violence and a serious
disruption to supply.
"Risk aversion is the name of the game. The (situation) in
the Middle East is clearly having a major impact on market
sentiment generally," said Peter Dixon, economist at
Commerzbank, who added reaction might be overdone.
"Hopefully as conditions begin to settle down again, we'll
start to see the fundamentals reassert themselves."
Widespread risk aversion boosted the Swiss franc and
prompted strong flows into U.S. and German government debt.
Global stocks, as measured by MSCI's all-country world index
<.MIWD00000PUS> fell 1.2 percent and much of Wall Street opened
more than 1 percent lower.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> was down 73.79
points, or 0.60 percent, at 12,317.46. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> was down 13.49 points, or 1.00 percent, at
1,329.52. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> was down 42.14
points, or 1.49 percent, at 2,791.81.
The euro was steady versus the dollar as hawkish comments
from a European Central Bank official helped it pare earlier
steep losses as escalating tensions in Libya prompted investors
to seek safer assets. []
The euro <EUR=> was up 0.01 percent at $1.3676, while the
U.S. Dollar Index <.DXY> was up 0.02 percent at 77.704.
The dollar <JPY=> was unchanged at 83.11.
U.S. crude prices jumped, in part because electronic
trading of the contract occurred on Monday, but there was no
settlement close as the exchange in New York was closed for the
Presidents Day holiday.
U.S. light sweet crude oil <CLc1> rose $5.44 to $91.64 a
barrel.
Shorter-dated German bond yields rose to their highest in
about two weeks, and U.S. Treasury prices also gained.
[]
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> was up
14/32 in price to yield 3.53 percent.
Gold prices slipped but remained above $1,400 an ounce as
the dollar surrendered its earlier 1 percent gains versus the
euro, with violence in Libya fueling interest in the metal as a
haven from risk. []
Spot gold prices <XAU=> fell $4.50 to $1,401.40 an ounce.
(Additional reporting by Claire Milhench, Tricia Wright, Brian
Gorman, Marius Zaharia, Rebekah Curtis, Jan Harvey and Amanda
Cooper Jessica Mortimer in London; Writing by Herbert Lash,
Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
