* Iran says can cut energy to Europe, hit enemies
* Chile's ENAP says boosts diesel imports after quake
* Money managers increase net NYMEX crude longs-CFTC
* Inventories buoy US growth, but home sales slump
By Fayen Wong
PERTH, March 1 (Reuters) - Oil rose above $80 a barrel on
Monday, extending last month's stellar gains of over 9 percent,
amid threats by Iran that it could cut off energy supplies to
Europe over Tehran's contentious nuclear programme.
A senior military official from Iran, the world's
fourth-largest crude oil exporter, said on Sunday the country
could make European countries suffer by cutting off energy
supplies and can target any adversary with its missiles.
[]
U.S. crude for April delivery <CLc1> rose 66 cents to
$80.32 by 0115 GMT, after having risen by as much as 95 cents.
The contract settled $1.49 higher at $79.66 on Friday and
posted the biggest monthly percentage gain since May 2009.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> rose 65 cents to $78.24.
"There's always a risk that tensions in the Middle East can
have a real impact on the supply of oil and oil's gains this
morning are largely a knee-jerk reaction to Iran's comments,"
said Toby Hassall, chief commodities analyst at CWA Global
Markets Pty Ltd.
"But the market needs to consider those comments in the
context of the underlying fundamentals, where there is now
spare capacity, so I think its a bit early to be concerned
about supply disruptions."
Iran is locked in dispute with the United States and its
allies over its nuclear energy programme which Western
countries fear is aimed at allowing Iran the chance to develop
nuclear weapons. Tehran says it is only interested in
electricity.
The International Atomic Energy Agency's governing board
meets in Vienna next week to discuss Iran while world powers
are deliberating new sanctions on Iran at the level of the U.N.
Security Council.
Analysts said positive economic data from the United States
on Friday also helped increase investors' appetite for more
risky assets, lending further support to oil.
The U.S. economy grew faster than initially thought at 5.9
percent versus 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter, a government
report showed on Friday, raising expectations of higher fuel
demand growth in the world's top energy consumer.
[]
Separately, Chile's state energy company ENAP said it was
stepping up diesel imports after two of its oil refineries were
damaged by a powerful earthquake on Saturday. But analysts said
the higher imports would have limited impact on crude prices.
[]
Oil traders are set to take their cue from a raft of
economic reports due this week, with key focus on U.S. jobless
data, due on Friday, which will give more clues on consumer
spending. Other key economic indicators due include U.S.
manufacturing on Monday and U.S. home loans on Wednesday.
More news on Greece's debt problems could also fire up
investors, analysts said.
Greece may soon announce new steps to cut its budget
deficit, a government minister said on Sunday, amid signs that
Athens might be nearing a deal with European Union governments
to ease the Greek debt crisis. []
Money managers increased their net long crude oil futures
position on the New York Mercantile Exchange in the week
through Feb. 23, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said
on Friday. []
(Editing by Ed Lane)
