* EU deal rekindles some appetite for risk, boosts euro
* IMF approves 30-billion-euro rescue loan for Greece
* Saudis to supply full crude volumes to Asia in June,
steady
* For a technical view of oil prices, see []
* Coming Up: ECB President Trichet speech at BIS meeting
(Updates prices)
By Alejandro Barbajosa
TOKYO, May 10 (Reuters) - Oil prices rebounded above $77 on
Monday from their lowest in almost three months after the
European Union agreed to protect the bloc's debt-stricken
nations, boosting confidence energy demand will continue to
recover.
Ministers agreed to set up a 500-billion-euro ($670
billion) emergency fund in the early hours of Monday, after the
IMF unanimously approved a 30 billion euro ($40 billion) rescue
loan for Greece a day earlier to stem a crisis that threatens
other euro zone members. [] []
U.S. crude for June delivery <CLc1> was up $2.47 at $77.58
a barrel by 0643 GMT. ICE Brent crude for June <LCOc1> also
jumped $2.19 to $80.45.
"It will take some time for events in Europe to play out
and uncertainty will remain in investors' minds going forward,
but the announcement of these packages allays some concerns
because contagion can be contained in the short term," said Ben
Westmore, a commodities analyst at National Australia Bank.
Crude prices fell more than $11 or about 13 percent last
week, the biggest weekly loss in almost a year and a half, on
worries the euro zone's debt crisis would derail the global
economic recovery. Prices touched $87.15 a week ago, their
highest in almost 19 months, before ending the week at their
lowest since mid-February.
"The market got ahead of itself and this was probably a
much needed reality check to get the heat out of the market,"
said Tony Nunan, a risk manager with Tokyo-based Mitsubishi
Corp.
"The EU has gone a long way to restore confidence in the
eurozone. We may get people coming in and saying it is still a
daunting task, asking who is going to foot the bill. But at
least it has stopped the freefall."
The front-month contract had dropped $2 on Friday, rattled
by investor concerns about Greece's ability to avoid default.
For a graph of front-month crude contract volatility,
click:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/MBU_20101005114720.jpg
"Oil probably sold off a bit too fast because you had a lot
of panic, but with the demand recovery in emerging Asia you
could see price returning to around $80," Westmore said.
OVERSUPPLIED MARKET
OPEC's secretary-general said on Sunday global oil markets
were oversupplied, but it was too early to talk about the
producer group taking action to halt the sharp price fall
sparked by the euro zone debt crisis. []
"We have a lot of crude oil on land and offshore,"
Secretary General Abdullah al-Badri told reporters in Doha.
"OPEC is overproducing, there is no doubt about it," he
added, urging greater compliance from OPEC producers with deep
curbs in production agreed in 2008.
The dollar fell more than 1 percent against a basket of
currencies <.DXY> on Monday. A weaker dollar makes oil imports
cheaper for emerging economies, which account for most of the
growth in demand forecast for this year.
"A stronger dollar was causing downward pressure on oil
prices, together with the uncertainties about the global
economic recovery," Westmore said.
The latest EU deal is a mix of loans and loan guarantees
totalling 440 billion euros, and 60 billion euros through a
European instrument to be covered with EU guarantees.
The emergency package will involve the IMF, with officials
saying its contribution could be about 220 billion euros.
Price charts show U.S. crude temporarily supported at
$74.51 and expected to rebound to $78 as the drop last week was
too sharp not to be followed by a good rebound.
"Technically, we had so much damage to the charts in one
week that we may see prices consolidate at this level, after
falling through so many support levels," Mitsubishi's Nunan
said. "It's going to have a hard time clearing above $80."
News of the EU emergency fund also lifted Asian stocks,
sending Japan's Nikkei average 1.6 percent higher on Monday.
[]
Saudi Arabia, the world's top crude oil exporter, will
maintain full volumes to main Asian customers next month,
suggesting it is content with current oil prices.
[]
China's main ports received 18.46 million tonnes of crude
oil in the first 29 days of April, up 26.6 percent on the year,
the transportation ministry said on its website.
[]
The increase signalled the world's second-largest crude
buyer's total inbound shipments could have topped 20 million
tonnes last month as imports via several land entrances were
not included in the statistics.
(Additional reporting by Osamu Tsukimori, James Topham in
Tokyo, Jim Bai and Chen Aizhu in Beijing and Michael Urquhart
in Singapore. Editing by Ed Lane)
