TOKYO, Oct 1 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures stood little
changed near a seven-month high on Friday, after posting a rise
of almost 3 percent a day earlier as lower U.S. jobless claims
stoked optimism for economic recovery in the world's top oil
consumer.
FUNDAMENTALS
* NYMEX crude for November delivery <CLc1> was down 10 cents
at $79.87 a barrel by 2357 GMT, after settling up $2.11 at $79.97
a day earlier.
On Thursday, it hit a session peak of $80.18, the highest
since Aug. 11.
* New U.S. jobless benefit claims fell more than expected
last week, signalling a potential job market recovery, while
second-quarter U.S. growth was revised up to 1.7 percent from an
earlier estimate of 1.6 percent. []
* In Ecuador, an OPEC member country which typically exports
around 300,000 barrels per day of crude, police and military
personnel went on strike to protest cuts in public sector
benefits and pay, thrusting the country into political chaos.
MARKETS NEWS
* Wall Street wrapped up its best quarter in a year on
Thursday with the S&P and Nasdaq logging their biggest monthly
gains since April 2009, as data showed the economy isn't in such
bad shape.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> slipped 47.23 points,
or 0.44 percent, to 10,788.05.
* The euro hit a five-month high against the dollar and was
on track for its best quarterly gains in eight years on Thursday
as data showed euro zone banks are relying less on funds from the
European Central Bank. []
DATA/EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Friday: (Times in GMT)
- 2330 Japan CPI, core nationwide Aug
- 2330 Japan Unemployment rate Aug
- 2330 Japan Foreign reserves Sep
- 0000 Japan Govt oil demand, trade data Aug
- 0100 China NBS PMI Sep
- 0500 India HSBC Markit Mfg PMI Sep
- 0600 Germany Retail sales yy real Aug
- 0743 Italy Markit/ADACI Mfg PMI Sep
- 0753 Germany Markit/BME Mfg PMI Sep
- 0758 EZ Markit Mfg PMI Sep
- 1200 Brazil Industrial Output y/y Aug
- 1230 U.S. Personal Income Aug
- 1230 U.S. Core PCE price index y/y Aug
- 1355 U.S. Michigan sentiment index Sep-F
- 1430 U.S. ECRI index Wkly
- n/a U.S. Vehicle sales Sep
- China Public holiday
PRICES
Oil prices as of 2357 GMT
Contract Mnth Price Change Day ago pct MA-20*
NYMEX Contracts
US Crude NOV0 $79.87 -0.10 +$2.11 +2.71% $75.63
Heat Oil NOV0 226.46 -0.32 +5.65 +2.56% 211.62
RBOB NOV0 203.32 -0.29 +5.32 +2.68% 194.75
Natgas NOV0 $3.857 -0.015 -$0.090 -2.27% $3.904
ICE Contracts
Brent NOV0 -- +0.00 +$1.54 +1.91% $78.60
Gasoil OCT0 -- +0.00 +$19.00 +2.76% $671.06
Note: U.S. heating oil and RBOB gasoline contracts listed in
cents per gallon.
* = 20-day moving average for continuation month.
(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Joseph Radford)
