* Mideast unrest, Israel-Iran tension boost Brent
* Rise in U.S. crude inventories keeps lid on U.S. crude
* Reuters monthly oil price poll sees fall in Brent soon
* Coming Up: U.S. weekly jobless claims, U.S. January CPI
(Updates detail, prices, comment)
By Anna Yukhananov
LONDON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - North Sea Brent crude oil
steadied around $104 per barrel on Thursday, near a
two-and-a-half-year high, as Israel-Iran tension and unrest in
the Middle East stoked fears of a disruption of oil flows.
Bahrain police stormed a square in Manama, killing at least
three people as protests in the Middle East and North Africa,
inspired by revolts in Tunisia and Egypt, gathered pace.
[] []
Clashes were reported in tightly controlled oil producer
Libya, sandwiched between Egypt and Tunisia, and people there
prepared to take to the streets for a "day of rage" after new
protests erupted in Yemen, Iran and Iraq.
The dollar hit a one-week low against a basket of currencies
on worries over rising Middle East tension. []
"All in all, the pace of change sweeping the region is truly
mind-boggling, and we find it unlikely oil prices will 'settle'
any time soon as long as this kind of upheaval continues to
spread," said Edward Meir, senior commodity analyst at brokers
MF Global.
Brent crude for April delivery <LCOc1> slipped 12 cents to
$103.66 by 1200 GMT, after settling $2.14 higher at $103.78 on
Wednesday, its highest close since September 2008, and off an
earlier intraday high of $104.52.
U.S. crude for March delivery <CLc1> fell 26 cents to $84.73
a barrel, after settling up 67 cents at $84.99 on Wednesday,
snapping three straight days of losses.
A Reuters poll of analysts and banks suggested on Thursday
that Brent would drop later this year as the risk premium from
unrest in the Middle East ebbs. []
"The current price is unsustainable," said Carsten Fritsch,
commodity analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt. "Tension in the
Middle East should calm down at some point, whereas (North Sea)
output should normalise," he said.
Nomura analyst Michael Lo said Middle East unrest had added
around a 5 percent risk premium to oil prices. "The risk premium
could dissipate on any signs of the protests cooling off."
The spread between Brent and U.S. crude <CL-LCO1=R> held
above $16 per barrel after hitting a record of $16.31 a barrel
on Wednesday.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
For an interactive graphic on Middle East unrest, including
Bahrain, click: http://r.reuters.com/nym77r
For a graphic of asset returns in 2011, click:
http://r.reuters.com/suc97r
For a link to Reuters Insider news bulletin, focusing on
Reuters oil price poll: http://link.reuters.com/xet97r
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SUEZ
Tensions between Israel and Iran kept pressure on markets.
Suez Canal officials said on Thursday plans by two Iranian
naval ships to cross the waterway had been cancelled.
[]
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Wednesday
the ships were expected to pass through the Suez Canal overnight
en route to Syria in a move he described as a "provocation."
U.S. crude was depressed by industry data showing crude
stocks rose last week, albeit less than expected.
Also helping widen the Brent-WTI premium was the latest rise
in inventory levels at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery point for
the New York Mercantile Exchange oil futures contract.
Crude stored at the hub rose 250,000 barrels last week to
37.7 million barrels, just below the 38.3 million barrel record
level hit in the week to Jan. 28, the Energy Information
Administration's weekly data showed. []
In total, U.S. crude stocks rose 860,000 barrels to 345.9
million barrels, its fifth straight weekly gain, but the
increase was less than the forecast 2.2 million-barrel rise.
A raft of U.S. economic reports, due later on Thursday, will
shed light on the pace of growth and price pressures in the
world's biggest oil consumer.
The U.S. Labor Department will unveil first-time claims for
jobless benefits for the week ended Feb. 12 at 1330 GMT. January
consumer price data will also be released at 1330 GMT.
(Writing by Christopher Johnson; additional reporting by
Jennifer Tan; editing by James Jukwey)
