SINGAPORE, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Oil fell on Friday as
investor unease about the economic recovery spread across
markets after lacklustre U.S. employment and housing data,
sending equities lower and risk-haven currencies higher.
FUNDAMENTALS
* U.S. crude for November <CLc1> fell 31 cents to $74.87 a
barrel at 0100 GMT. Still, prices were heading for a weekly
gain of more than 1.6 percent. ICE Brent crude <LCOc1> slid 29
cents to $77.82.
* U.S. initial claims for state unemployment benefits
increased 12,000 to 465,000, the Labor Department said,
breaking two straight weeks of declines. Financial markets had
forecast claims steady at 450,000. []
* Growth rates in the euro zone's services and
manufacturing sectors slowed more than forecast this month as
firms hired fewer new workers, surveys showed, offering fresh
signs the region's economic recovery is losing momentum.
[]
* Sales of existing U.S. homes increased 7.6 percent to an
annual rate of 4.13 million units, a report showed on Thursday,
a touch above market expectations. Sales had plummeted 27
percent in July to the lowest level since 1997 after a tax
credit for homebuyers expired. While they rose last month, the
pace was still the second lowest in 13 years.
* The recovery from the economy's longest recession since
the 1930s fizzled in the second quarter and growth remains
sluggish with unemployment stubbornly high.
* Investors will be looking out for further clues on the
economy's direction from U.S. new home sales for August, due
out later on Friday.
* U.S. oil inventories at the key Cushing, Oklahoma, crude
oil hub rose 198,440 barrels to 37.855 million barrels in the
week to Sept. 21, Genscape data showed Thursday, following the
restart of Enbridge Inc's <ENB.TO> oil pipeline 6A.
[]
* The energy industry data provider estimated that Cushing
crude tanks were filled to 73 percent of shell capacity as of
Tuesday, up one percent from the previous week.
MARKETS NEWS
* Japan's Nikkei average fell 1.5 percent on Friday after a
weak reading on the U.S. job market pushed down shares on Wall
Street. []
* Gold rose to near $1,300 an ounce on Thursday, ending
higher for a fourth straight day, while the euro retreated from
a five-month high against the dollar, hobbled by worries about
Ireland's economy and its troubled banking sector.
The dollar strengthened against a basket of currencies on
Friday, after hitting its lowest against the Japanese yen since
last week's intervention. []
DATA/EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Friday, GMT:
- 0300 Japan PAJ weekly oil inventory data
- 0800 Germany Ifo business climate Sep
- 1400 U.S. New home sales Aug
- 1430 U.S. ECRI weekly index
RELATED NEWS
* Tropical Storm Matthew formed over the western Caribbean
on Thursday and was expected to hit Central America as early as
Friday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
* Models of the storm, which could become a hurricane this
weekend, suggest it might reach the Gulf of Mexico, where most
of Mexico's oil wells are located. Forecasts also show that the
storm could turn north along the eastern edge of the Yucatan
Peninsula and into the central Gulf of Mexico. []
(Reporting by Alejandro Barbajosa; Editing by Manash Goswami)
