* Data shows new U.S. home sales rebounded in March
* China economy seen growing almost 10 pct this year
* Greece asks for financial aid from EU/IMF
* Coming up: CFTC comment period on energy position limit
proposal ends Monday
(Updates with settlement prices, details)
By Daniel Wallis
NEW YORK, April 23 (Reuters) - Oil rose above $85 a barrel
on Friday as a sharp jump in new home sales signaled a stronger
economic recovery in the United States and boosted the outlook
for energy demand.
U.S. crude for June delivery <CLM0> settled up $1.42, or
1.7 percent, at $85.12 a barrel. An 18-month high above $87 was
last reached on April 6.
But U.S. crude was trading more than $2 below ICE Brent for
June <LCOM0>, the benchmark for most of Europe, Africa and
Asia, which rose $1.58, or $1.84 percent, to $87.25 a barrel.
"The very positive new home sales report was good for
crude," said Robert Yawger, senior vice president, energy
futures at MF Global in New York.
"The Brent premium to WTI is being supported by the high
inventories at Cushing and Asian demand," he added.
Most traders think Brent better represents world oil
balances, because U.S. crude prices can be locally affected by
gluts at the land-locked Cushing, Oklahoma pricing point, where
stocks jumped last week. []
Wall Street stocks edged up after data showed sales of
newly built U.S. single-family homes surged nearly 27 percent
in March to touch their highest level in eight months, adding
to optimism about corporate earnings. []
Oil prices were also supported by growing demand in booming
China and India, and by indebted Greece's decision to activate
European Union and International Monetary Fund aid, though
doubts remained over whether it would lead to a long-term fix.
[]
Demand for crude is set to grow seasonally in the
agriculture and transport sectors.
"We are going to see more demand coming in spring and
summer and that is going to push prices higher," said Peter
McGuire, managing director of Commodity Warrants Australia in
Sydney, adding that he expected oil to approach $90 in June.
The euro rebounded from one-year lows against the dollar
after Greece sought to activate the financial aid package, and
Germany said it was ready to commit to the plan to bail out the
debt-strapped country. []
Energy-hungry China's economy will probably grow by about
9.9 percent this year, compared with a previous outlook of 9.1
percent, according to forecasts published by the Chinese
Academy of Social Sciences. []
And prices were also supported by improving business
sentiment in Germany, the world's third largest economy, where
a closely watched survey gave the brightest outlook from 7,000
firms since May 2008. []
(Additional reporting by Robert Gibbons and Gene Ramos in New
York, David Sheppard in London and Alejandro Barbajosa in
Singapore; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Marguerita
Choy)
