* June ICE Brent trades near 18-month highs above $87
* U.S. crude prices pressured by stronger dollar
* Coming Up: U.S. housing starts for March; 1230 GMT
(Recasts, adds graphic, previous SINGAPORE)
By Joe Brock
LONDON, April 16 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell towards $85 a
barrel on Friday as doubts over U.S. crude 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 raised doubts over the
strength of economic recovery in the world's largest energy
consumer, weighing on oil prices. []
U.S. crude for May delivery <CLc1> fell 49 cents to $85.02 a
barrel by 0900 GMT, more than $2 lower than an 18-month high
above $87 reached last week. The dollar gained almost 0.1
percent against a basket of currencies.
"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.
"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 added.
The May London Brent <LCOc1> crude oil contract reached
18-month highs just before it expired on Thursday, jumping to a
premium over the front-month U.S. crude contract of over $1.60.
The June contract, now the front-month contract, was trading
about $1 higher than the equivalent contract for U.S. crude on
Friday, shedding 35 cents to $87.24.
BRENT VS U.S. CRUDE
For a graphic on the price movements of Brent and U.S.
crude's front-month contracts, click below:
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Strong economic data out of China painted a more positive
outlook for demand across Asia, giving relative support to
prices of Brent crude, the benchmark for most of the oil
produced in Europe, Africa and Asia.
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. For a factbox on Brent's premium: []
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.
For a technical outlook on U.S. crude, click []
(Additional reporting by Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore;
editing by James Jukwey)
