* U.S. crude oil at its highest level since September 2008
* Iran oil minister says no need for OPEC emergency meeting
* Technicals-US oil may retrace to $106.30 []
* Coming up: U.S. Employment Trends for March - 1400 GMT
(Updates prices)
By Christopher Johnson
LONDON, April 4 (Reuters) - North Sea Brent crude oil hit a
2-1/2-year high of almost $120 a barrel on Monday as unrest in
the Middle East and North Africa kept the focus on oil supplies
as economic growth bolstered demand for fuel.
Iran's oil minister said there was no need for the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to hold an
extraordinary meeting, adding to price support.
Iran is holder of OPEC's rotating presidency in 2011.
[]
ICE Brent <LCOc1> rose $1.25 to a high of $119.95 a barrel,
its highest since August 2008, before slipping back to trade
around $119.70 by 1345 GMT.
U.S. crude <CLc1> was up 20 cents at $108.14 a barrel by
1345 GMT, after touching $108.78 earlier in the session, its
highest since September 2008.
Edward Meir, senior commodity analyst at brokers MF Global,
said investors seemed to be in no mood to sell the markets
despite the "less than compelling fundamental backdrop".
Analysts say the loss of oil from Libya has been more or
less offset by Saudi Arabia, while the Japanese crisis should
also reduce oil import demand, suggesting "there likely is a
statistical surplus in the system right now", Meir said.
"However, participants are not bothering with data for the
moment, as the focus remains on headlines out of the Middle
East. Moreover, the fact that global growth has yet to show any
significant sign of decelerating is also keeping the "buy
commodities" theme very much intact," he added.
The government of Libya -- the world's 17th-largest oil
producer and Africa's third-largest -- has sent an envoy to
Greece to discuss an end to fighting, but gave no signs of any
major climb down in a war that has ground to a stalemate between
rebels and forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi. []
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More on Middle East unrest: [][]
Libya Graphics http://link.reuters.com/neg68r
Interactive graphic http://link.reuters.com/puk87r
FACTBOX on Libya's oil production, click []
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NORTH SEA DELAYS
Tension in the Middle East continued to support sentiment
while supply disruptions elsewhere also bolstered prices.
In Yemen, police using live rounds and tear gas wounded
hundreds of protesters marching on a presidential palace in the
Red Sea city of Hudaida on Monday in a sign of fraying nerves as
the political crisis deepened. []
An oil workers' strike in Gabon has stopped production of
around 240,000 barrels per day (bpd) of mainly low sulphur crude
oil, industry sources said. []
And in the North Sea, loadings of benchmark Forties crude
oil have been delayed by some days due to problems with the
Buzzard oilfield, Britain's largest. []
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait both said on Monday they thought oil
prices should ideally be below current levels.
Farouk al-Zanki, chief executive of Kuwait Petroleum Corp,
said he would like to see world oil prices decline but did not
expect them to fall below $90 a barrel. He was quoted as saying
$90 to $100 would be "the fair price" for crude. []
A Saudi official told Reuters on Monday the kingdom had not
changed its view of the optimal level for oil prices and was
still seeking $70 to $80 a barrel. []
Carsten Fritsch, analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt, said
oil prices could fall later this year if the political situation
in the Middle East allowed worries over supply to ease.
"In the short-term, oil prices look very well supported," he
said. "The general market sentiment is positive. But we still
feel that prices will come down later this year once the supply
fears have dissipated."
(Additional reporting by Seng Li Peng in Singapore; editing by
William Hardy)
