* Japan economy posts 1.1 pct growth in fourth quarter
* China announced tighter bank reserves on Friday
(Updates prices)
By David Sheppard
LONDON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Oil prices were firm near $74 on
Monday after stronger-than-expected Japanese growth data offset
concerns rising energy demand could slow due to China's moves to
tighten monetary policy.
U.S. crude for March delivery <CLc1> was up 12 cents at
$74.25 a barrel by 1317 GMT. London ICE Brent for April delivery
<LCOc1> rose 3 cents to $72.93.
Crude fell for the first time in four days on Friday,
shedding 1.5 percent after China's central bank moved to check
the country's rapidly expanding economy, which is at the centre
of rising demand for commodities. []
China's markets are closed this week for the Lunar New Year
holiday, as are markets in South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong,
Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore. In the United States markets
are closed for Presidents' Day.
"Today everything's very steady," said Robert Montefusco at
Sucden Financial. "Worries over Greece seem to be quite heavily
discounted in the euro already."
The euro was near nine-month lows against the dollar on
Monday as doubts intensified about whether policymakers in the
euro zone will help Greece resolve a fiscal crisis, prompting
investors to add to long positions in the greenback. []
A strong dollar tends to pressure dollar-priced commodities
as they become more expensive for holders of other currencies.
Euro zone finance ministers meet on Monday and Tuesday and
are expected to put pressure on Greece to implement planned
budget deficit cuts. []
JAPANESE GROWTH
Japan's economy grew faster than expected in the fourth
quarter with government stimulus programmes spurring expansion
of 1.1 percent. []
"When you look at prices I don't see much more downside,"
said Mark Pervan, senior commodities analyst at ANZ in
Melbourne.
"China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and other Asian economies are
going to perform very well this year notwithstanding what the
Chinese government is doing to control growth."
However, Japan's demand for oil has been falling in recent
months, as consumers and industry continue to shift to other
forms of energy. []
Oil has traded in a relatively tight $15 range between $69
and $84 a barrel since the beginning of October. At the peak of
the financial crisis, oil crashed below $40 a barrel from a July
2008 record of almost $150, but expectations of an economic
recovery have supported prices since then.
"We would expect oil prices for the remainder of the year in
the current range, perhaps with a slight upwards drift but no
dramatic spikes," BP Chief Economist Christof Ruehl told Reuters
on Monday at an industry conference in London. []
For the Reuters Insider TV segment of the interview, please
click on http://link.reuters.com/jeb39h
Algerian Energy and Mines Minister Chakib Khelil said on
Sunday all options are open at the March meeting of the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
[]
The producer group, whose 12 members pump more than a third
of the world's oil, meet in Vienna on March 17 to decide whether
to change production targets. In late 2008, OPEC cut output
targets by 4.2 million barrels per day, or about 5 percent of
world demand, in a bid to support prices during the downturn.
(Additional reporting by Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore;
editing by Sue Thomas)
