* Focus returns to oil supply, demand fundamentals
* Coming Up: China inflation data on Tuesday
(Updates prices, previous SINGAPORE)
LONDON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil traded below $86 a
barrel and near a 10-week low on Monday as investors focused on
ample supplies after the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak eased concern of disruptions.
Mubarak's departure last week after 18 days of mass protests
eased concerns of unrest spreading across the Middle East and
North Africa, source of more than a third of the world's oil.
"Concerns over a potential disruption to supplies have eased
and now that the immediate threat is out of the way, the market
will start focusing again on macroeconomic fundamentals," said
Ben Westmore, commodities analyst with National Australia Bank.
U.S. crude, also known as West Texas Intermediate or WTI,
for March <CLc1> was down 23 cents to $85.35 a barrel by 0915
GMT, after falling as low as $85.10 on Friday, the lowest
intraday price in 10 weeks.
Brent crude <LCOc1>, the benchmark in Europe, Africa and the
Middle East, for April was up 24 cents to $101.18. The events in
Egypt helped push Brent above $100 at the end of last month for
the first time since 2008.
The premium of Brent to U.S. crude <CL-LCO1=R> reached a
record $16.24 on Friday, the last day of trading for the March
Brent contract. The spread between the April contracts
<CL-LCO2=R> was around $12 on Monday.
U.S. crude has been weighed down by near-record inventories
at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery point for U.S. crude futures,
while a steady fall in North Sea supplies -- the physical basis
for the Brent contract - has supported the European marker.
"The crude market has shifted focus back to fundamentals.
WTI was anchored by record crude supplies in Cushing, while
tightness in the North Sea market provided support to Brent
prices," Mark Pervan, head of Commodity Research at ANZ Bank,
said in a research note.
INFLATION
Key data for investors this week include Chinese January
inflation figures scheduled for release on Tuesday.
Traders said that consumer prices may have risen 4.9 percent
in the year to January, well below the consensus forecast of 5.3
percent. The official data will be announced on Tuesday.
[]
Analysts say that financial markets could remain volatile
from uncertainty during the next phase of Egypt's political
transition and its potential spillover effects to the broader
Middle East.
Egypt's military delivered an ultimatum on Monday to dozens
of committed protesters in Tahrir Square to leave and let life
get back to normal or face arrest. []
In other markets, European shares rose on Monday to a
29-month high as talk of slower-than-expected Chinese inflation
data and strong China trade figures boosted sentiment. []
The euro fell to a three-week low versus the dollar on
Monday as investors turned cautious ahead of peripheral bond
auctions in Spain and Italy this week. <.DXY>.
(Reporting by Alex Lawler in London and Jennifer Tan in
Singapore; editing by James Jukwey)
