* Almost half of Libya oil output cut- Libya NOC chairman
* U.S. crude stockpiles likely rose for 7th straight week
* IMF says extended high oil prices to hit global growth
* Technicals show Brent to consolidate []
(Updates prices, adds comment)
By Zaida Espana
LONDON, March 1 (Reuters) - Brent crude oil futures rose
above $112 a barrel on Tuesday, supported by worries that
continued unrest in the Middle East and North Africa could
threaten supplies even as Saudi Arabia ramped up output.
Brent futures for April <LCOc1> were up 49 cents at $112.29
a barrel by 1104 GMT. The contract gained over 10 percent in
February, its biggest monthly percentage rise since May 2009.
U.S. crude <CLc1> rose 33 cents to $97.30 a barrel.
Both benchmarks surged to their highest in 2-1/2 years last
week as the revolt in Libya cut supply and spurred fears that
tensions could spread to other oil producers in the region.
Almost half of Libya's output has been cut as a result of
the departure of oil workers, Libya's National Oil Corporation
chairman, Shokri Ghanem, said on Tuesday. []
Saudi Arabia's pledge to pump more has helped to prevent a
further surge in the price of oil, while Iraq announced an
increase in average oil exports in February. []
[] []
"Saudi Arabia has compensated for supply losses in Libya,
which has prevented a further price rise so far. The biggest
OPEC producer is likely to be already producing more than 9
million barrels of crude oil a day at present," Commerzbank
analysts said in a note.
"Saudi Arabia's spare capacities are thus another good 3
million barrels a day. The market is likely to get nervous, at
the latest, when spare capacities drop below 2 million barrels a
day."
In Oman, a small oil producer, the army fired in the air,
wounding one person, as it moved to disperse protesters near the
northern port of Sohar. []
Some analysts noted that the Saudi move to increase supplies
could be mirrored by other oil producers keen to benefit from
the current strength in prices.
"The Saudi unilateral decision to increase supplies also
implies that the OPEC quotas are de facto written off, and
Kuwait has already started giving signs that it will likely
follow the steps of Saudi Arabia," Petromatrix's Olivier Jakob
said.
"At current prices it makes sense for both Kuwait and the
UAE to also increase supplies rather than stay idle and watch
Saudi Arabia increase its market share."
Investors awaited the latest U.S. weekly crude inventories
data from industry group American Petroleum Institute at 1630
GMT. Economists polled by Reuters expect an increase in
stockpiles for a seventh consecutive week on higher imports.
[]
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Middle East unrest graphics http://r.reuters.com/nym77r
Analysis of long-term impact on Libya oil []
Countries most reliant on oil http://r.reuters.com/dux28r
Calculator: Oil price impact on GDP
http://r.reuters.com/jux28r
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
OIL SPIKES COULD HIT GROWTH
The IMF has warned that global economic growth could suffer
if the price of oil stays at its current high level for an
extended period. []
The European Commission expects oil prices to average around
$100 a barrel this year, EU economic and monetary affairs
commissioner Olli Rehn said on Tuesday.
"Based on the normal methodology we would expect the oil
price would be somewhat higher than $100 a barrel this year,"
Rehn said. "With these oil prices, the impact on economic growth
in Europe is still relatively limited," he told a news briefing,
adding that he did not think there would be a double-dip
recession in Europe. []
In China, manufacturing growth slowed in February to a
six-month low, according to an official survey, as the
government's sustained campaign to tame inflation weighed on
industrial activity.
China is targeting 7 percent per year annual economic growth
from 2011-2015, down from the average growth of 11.2 percent in
the last five year period. []
(Additional reporting by Florence Tan in Singapore; editing by
Jane Baird)
