* Brunt crude hits a 2-1/2 year high on geopolitical
concerns
* Asian stocks, copper off lows as selloff eases
* Dollar broadly weaker, hits record low vs Swiss franc
(Updates prices)
By Ian Chua
SYDNEY, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Unrest in Libya and the threat of
contagion to other oil producing countries in the region drove
Brent crude to $113 a barrel on Thursday, but the selloff in
Asian stocks eased as investors started to nibble at beaten-down
shares.
Copper also bounced off one-month lows, although the
dollar stayed on the back foot as some investors worry that the
U.S. economy would be vulnerable to high oil prices, given its
reliance on consumer spending to drive growth.
London Brent crude rose as high as $113 a barrel for
the first time since September 2008, having gained nearly 10
percent in the past four sessions. U.S. crude last traded
at around $99.38 a barrel, a whisker away from Wednesday's high
of $100.
Worries that higher energy prices will crimp corporate
profits had sparked a steep selloff in Asian stocks in the past
two sessions, but that looked to be losing its punch.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index , while still 0.4 percent
lower on the day, was off its lows and stocks elsewhere in Asia
erased early losses to be up 0.4 percent.
"As Japanese stocks have tumbled for the past two sessions
(losing 2.6 percent), today's losses may not be sharp," said
Masumi Yamamoto, a market analyst at Daiwa Securities Capital
Markets.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng put on 0.2 percent and China's
Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.2 percent. Gains in
U.S. stock futures suggest a steadier start on Wall
Street after two sessions of declines.
Gold , a traditional safe haven in times of trouble,
traded at around $1,412 an ounce, not far from a record high
around $1,430 set in December.
Copper gained 1.1 percent to $9,526 a tonne,
climbing off a one-month low of $9,365.
The dollar index , which tracks its performance
against a basket of major currencies, shed 0.3 percent to
77.173.
Against the Swiss franc, the dollar fell to a record low at
around 0.9277 franc , surpassing the previous trough of
0.9301 set at the end of the year.
The euro held firm at $1.3776 , coming within easy
reach of its Feb. 2 peak of $1.3862, helped also by recent
hawkish comments on inflation by European Central Bank
officials, which raised expectations the ECB will hike interest
rates before the Federal Reserve.
"There may be a realisation that if oil prices rise sharply,
that would hit all the developed countries and in that sense it
effects every major currency the same," said Tsutomu Soma,
manager of foreign bonds at Okasan Securities.
"And if the impact from the Middle East crisis is roughly
equal on each currency, you could argue that currencies with a
yield advantage will benefit at the end of the day," Soma said.
The New Zealand dollar continued to struggle at
two-month lows below $0.7500, with markets now pricing in an 88
percent chance that the next rate move will be a 25 basis point
cut .
The move followed the deadly earthquake that hit the
country's second biggest city of Christchurch on Tuesday.
(Additional reporting by Ayai Tomisawa and Hideyuki Sano in
Tokyo; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Yoko Nishikawa)
