UPDATE 6-Oil jumps to above $51 as G20 meets

                                
 * Oil jumps more than $3 per barrel on stock market gains
                                
 * Focus on G20 meeting, U.S. jobs data
                                
 * IEA likely to lower its oil demand forecast significantly

 (Updates prices)
                                
 By Christopher Johnson
                                
 LONDON, April 2 (Reuters) - Oil rose more than $3 per barrel
to above $51 on Thursday as rising equities markets bolstered
sentiment during a G20 summit which investors hoped would
deliver measures to restore global growth.
                                
 European shares rose sharply on expectations the economic
downturn was moderating, with investors training their sights on
the G20 leaders' meeting in London. [.EU]
                                
 Asian stocks earlier shot to a three-month high with Tokyo's
Nikkei <.N225> closing up 4.4 percent. [MKTS/GLOB]
                                
 U.S. light crude oil for May delivery <CLc1> rose to a high
of $51.53 per barrel, up $3.14, before slipping back to trade
around $51.30 by 12.48 GMT. London Brent crude <LCOc1> was up
$3.30 at $51.74 a barrel.
                                
 "It's managed to pop back above $50 which could be giving
the market a bit of a boost from a technical perspective," said
Tony Machacek, oil broker at Bache Commodities in London.
                                
 "There seems to be a G20 factor -- the stock markets are
strong and the dollar is weaker. That is also helping the
market."
                                
 Oil has fallen nearly $100 from a record high above $147 in
July 2008 as the economic downturn has dented global energy
demand, particularly in the United States.
                                
 The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless
benefits unexpectedly rose to its highest level in over 26 years
last week and so-called continued claims jumped to a record high
in March, according to Labor Department data on Thursday.
                                
 
                                
 OIL DEMAND FALLING
                                
 Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits
rose 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 669,000 in the week ended
March 28, the highest since the week ending Oct. 2, 1982, from
an upwardly revised 657,000 the week before.
                                
 The head of the International Energy Agency said on Thursday
the agency was likely to cut its global oil demand forecasts
significantly as more bleak economic data emerged. [nL2944671]
                                
 "The possibility for downward revision will be high," Nobuo
Tanaka, the agency's executive director, told Reuters in an
interview on the sidelines of an energy conference.
                                
 "We now have data from not only the IMF but the OECD. They
all look gloomy. Inevitably, the possible downward revision can
be significant but I cannot say how big."
                                
 The euro jumped against the dollar on Thursday after the
European Central Bank cut interest rates by a
smaller-than-expected 25 basis points to 1.25 percent. Markets
had expected a 50 basis point cut. [USD/]
                                
 The latest draft of the G20 communique, obtained by Reuters,
called for an increase of IMF resources by $500 billion, which
would make available total funding of $750 billion, G20 sources
said on Thursday. [nN02539639]
                                
 The communique said leaders would submit large hedge funds
to supervision for the first time and enhance regulation through
a new agency and a beefed-up IMF. [ID:nL2438948]
                                
 Investors were looking ahead to U.S. non-farm payrolls data
on Friday, which could put downward pressure on oil prices.
                                
 Forecasters polled by Reuters expect non-farm payrolls to
show a fall of 650,000 for March, similar to the 651,000 shed in
February. [ID:nN01523085]
 (Additional reporting by Alex Lawler in London and Osamu
Tsukimori in Tokyo; editing by James Jukwey)