* Market sandwiched between slow recovery, growth hopes
* Coming Up: U.S. new home sales for Aug at 1400 GMT
(Adds European data and comment, updates prices)
By David Turner
LONDON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Oil edged up on Friday, as
investor fears about global economic recovery eased following
the closely watched Ifo survey showing stronger-than-expected
business sentiment in Germany, the euro zone's largest economy.
However, oil's gains were modest, after the Ifo index
surprised markets by showing a slight rise. []
Traders said this muted reaction was because the survey
followed a week of mixed economic news from the euro zone and
the U.S., which left uncertain signals about future oil demand.
Because of this counterbalance of good and bad news, "there's
absolutely no momentum in crude oil. Oil goes up a little bit
and down a little bit," said Olivier Jakob of consultants
Petromatrix in Zug, Switzerland.
Asked whether possible further quantitative easing in the
U.S. could break this pattern by pushing oil prices up, Jakob
said, "this would actually be bearish, because if it comes, it
will be because the economy is getting worse, not better."
Expectations of a new round of quantitative easing in the U.S.
have increased this week, following Tuesday comments by the
Federal Reserve. []
U.S. crude for November <CLc1> rose 14 cents to $75.32 a
barrel at 0921 GMT. Although this would leave prices with a
weekly gain of more than 2 percent, oil's current price is right
in the middle of the $70-$80 range where it has traded for more
than six weeks.
ICE Brent crude <LCOc1> rose 6 cents to $78.17.
U.S. CONCERNS
The recovery from the U.S. economy's longest recession since
the 1930s has fizzled in the second quarter, and growth remains
sluggish with unemployment stubbornly high, dampening
expectations for a recovery in oil demand.
U.S. initial claims for state unemployment benefits
increased 12,000 to 465,000 last week, the Labor Department said
on Thursday, breaking two straight weeks of declines. Financial
markets had forecast claims steady at 450,000. []
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. []
Traders are eagerly awaiting figures for new U.S. home sales,
due later on Friday.
U.S. petroleum stockpiles last week reached their highest
since weekly records began in 1990. []
A European counterweight to the positive Ifo figure from
Germany is Thursday's news that rates in the euro zone's
services and manufacturing sectors slowed more than forecast
this month as firms hired fewer new workers. []
However, the latest news from the U.S. National Hurricane
Center provided some support to oil prices. Tropical Storm
Matthew formed over the western Caribbean on Thursday and was
expected to hit Central America as early as Friday, the 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. []
(Additional reporting by Alejandro Barbajosa; editing by
Vera Eckert)
