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(Adds European markets, quotes, updates prices)
By Louise Heavens
SINGAPORE, May 8 (Reuters) - Oil's relentless push to yet
another record high pressured Asian shares across the board on
Thursday, raising fears that inflation -- and central bank
measures to cool it -- would hurt consumer spending and
profits.
European markets were set to open lower, with financial
bookmakers in London expecting Britain's FTSE 100 <>,
Germany's Dax <>, and France's CAC-40 <> to open
between 0.4-0.7 percent lower.
The euro tumbled to a two-month low against the dollar as
weak euro zone retail sales figures on Wednesday sparked
concern about the region's economy ahead of a European Central
Bank meeting later on Thursday.
Also weighing on the euro was a Financial Times article
that said the United States and Europe now have a united desire
to see the dollar strengthen against the European currency,
some traders said.
The rising dollar put pressure on gold <XAU=> and
industrial metals as they became more expensive in other
currencies.
U.S. crude <CLc1> was steady at $123.48 in Asia by 0629
GMT, holding close to a record $123.93 hit earlier.
Oil prices have doubled in a year and risen sixfold since
2002 on rising demand from China and other developing
countries, adding pressure to economies already hit hard by a
housing and credit crunch and rising food costs.
Crude rose despite news of a large increase in U.S. crude
inventories.
The advance came a day after investment bank Goldman Sachs
said oil prices could scale $200 a barrel in the next two years
as part of a "super spike" in the market.
Stocks in Asia took their cue from sky-high oil prices and
Wall Street's tumble overnight, where a drop in shares in
banks, home builders and companies dependent on consumer
spending sent the Dow Jones industrial average <> down 1.6
percent.
"The dilemma for global economies is potentially slowing
growth and emerging inflation pressures," said Greg Goodsell,
equity strategist at ABN AMRO in Australia.
"It will be the task for central banks around the world to
manage that process quite carefully because they tend to
suggest opposite policy reaction in terms of interest rates."
Tokyo's Nikkei average ended down 1.1 percent, with banks,
such as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group <8306.T>, among the
biggest fallers.
Shares across the rest of Asia <.MIAPJ0000PUS> fell 1.2
percent. The benchmark is down around 7.7 percent so far this
year.
Stock indexes in Seoul <>, Singapore <.FTSTI>, and
Taiwan fell between 0.3-2 percent.
Shares in Hong Kong <> dipped 1.3 percent as oil
producers, such as CITIC Resources <1205.HK> benefited from
sky-high crude oil prices, but airlines, including Air China
<0753.HK> slid as much as 5 percent.
In contrast, shares in Sydney bucked the trend, helped by
banks turning positive.
The euro fell to $1.5285 <EUR=> on trading platform EBS,
the lowest since early March. It later trimmed losses and was
at $1.5317. The dollar traded at 104.48 yen <JPY=>.
The ECB is expected to keep interest rates steady at 4
percent later on Thursday because inflationary threats remain
its main concern. But traders said recent weak data suggested
the central bank may have to lower rates before the end of the
year. []
Sterling hovered near an 11-week low of $1.9503 hit on
Wednesday after weak consumer sentiment and jobs data. The Bank
of England reviews policy later in the day and is also expected
to leave its rates unchanged at 5 percent.
The 10-year Japanese government bond yield hovered at a
7-month high at 1.660 percent.
June 10-year JGB futures edged up 0.33 of a point to 135.80
<2JGBv1>.
