* ICE Brent trades near 18-month highs around $87
* U.S. crude prices depressed by options expiry -sources
* Coming Up: U.S. housing starts for March; 1230 GMT
By Alejandro Barbajosa
SINGAPORE, April 16 (Reuters) - U.S. crude dropped to below
$85 on Friday as concerns about U.S. demand re-emerged and the
dollar strengthened, making imports more expensive for emerging
economies where consumption is surging.
An unexpected jump in the weekly number of U.S. workers
filing new jobless benefit claims tempered sentiment across
markets on Thursday. []
"We had slightly disappointing weekly jobless claims
numbers that triggered some caution in the oil market," said
Toby Hassall, an analyst at CWA Global Markets Pty Ltd in
Sydney.
U.S. crude for May delivery <CLc1> fell 67 cents to $84.84
a barrel by 0316 GMT, more than $2 lower than an 18-month high
above $87 reached last week. The dollar gained more than 0.1
percent against a basket of currencies.
The dollar found support after the Treasury Department
said foreign purchases of U.S. securities rose in February as
strong private sector demand helped reverse an overall capital
outflow suffered during the prior month. []
"A firmer dollar today is probably a factor weighing on
prices. High inventories of crude in the United States reflect
the fact that the fundamentals are still soft; we are still
seeing oversupply," Hassall said.
For a technical outlook on U.S. crude, click
[]
Strong economic data out of China painted a different
outlook for demand across Asia, giving relative support to
prices of London-traded ICE Brent crude, the benchmark for most
of the oil produced in Europe, Africa and Asia.
Soaring growth in the Chinese economy, which posted annual
expansion of 11.9 percent in the first quarter, could prompt a
revaluation of the yuan, which may boost oil demand by
increasing China's buying power. []
Front-month Brent <LCOc1> reached 18-month highs on
Thursday. The June contract, which became the front month
overnight after May expired, was trading about $1 higher than
the equivalent contract for U.S. crude on Friday, shedding 39
cents to $87.20.
May Brent settled at $87.17 on Thursday, the highest close
since front-month Brent ended at $90.25 on Oct. 3, 2008.
Brent's $87.58 intraday peak was the highest since $87.99 was
struck on Oct. 7, 2008.
A strike by Gabon's main oil union has cut about 60 percent
of the African nation's 250,000 barrels per day of crude
production, which competes with Brent. []
On the other hand, the expiration of May U.S. crude oil
options helped restrain U.S. prices on Thursday, traders said.
Barclays Capital's technical team said in a note to clients
that a corrective phase that had dominated the last week or so
of oil trading was now over and the next targets were
significantly higher. []
"Following five days of modest lower closes, Brent crude is
pressuring the top of a bullish flag-like pattern," Barclays
Capital said. "Brent is ready to test $88.15 per barrel, then
$90.00."
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
