* Lunar New Year holiday stifles trade across Asia
* U.S., Brent crude futures hold on to $1-plus gains
* European ministers set Greece deadline on budget measures
(updates prices, adds Greece details)
By Jo Winterbottom
LONDON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Oil skipped over $75 per barrel,
up more than $1, on Tuesday, responding to a euro clambering
higher against the dollar and supported by tensions over
pressure for more sanctions against Iran.
U.S. crude for March delivery <CLc1> touched a session high
of $75.58 per barrel, up $1.45, before easing back to be up
$1.21 at $75.34 by 1317 GMT.
The benchmark Brent contract for April delivery <LCOc1> was
trading up $1.51 per barrel at $74.02 after having touched an
intra-day peak of $74.22 earlier.
Trading volumes continued light with much of Asia shut for
the Lunar New Year holiday and U.S. markets opening later after
Monday's closure for Presidents' Day. There was no settlement
price on Monday as floor activity on the New York Mercantile
Exchange was closed.
"Macro pessimism is definitely fading away as long as a
resolution (to Greece's problems) is not far away," said Amrita
Sen, energy analyst at Barclays Capital.
"Geopolitical rumblings, especially Nigeria, in the
background are definitely helping prices," Sen added.
U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said Iran's
Revolutionary Guards are driving the world's fourth-largest oil
producer towards military dictatorship and should be targeted in
any new U.N. sanctions. []
In Nigeria, Acting President Goodluck Jonathan is looking
for swift progress reviving an amnesty programme in the
oil-producing Niger Delta where years of attacks by militants
have disrupted supplies. []
NEW DEADLINES FOR GREECE
On the foreign exchange markets, the euro rose against the
dollar as traders reckoned the single currency's battering in
past weeks over Greek's debt problems might have gone too far.
[]
European finance ministers set Greece a deadline of May 15
to take "urgent measures" to rein in its budget deficit in
addition to a mid-March deadline for a review of progress so
far. []
But many investors remain cautious about buying the single
currency on uncertainty that debt problems in Greece will be
resolved quickly.
That kept the euro's gains fragile as ministers met in
Brussels on Tuesday and the single currency was trading around
$1.3642, off a high of $1.3682.
A strong dollar tends to pressure dollar-priced commodities
as they become more expensive for holders of other currencies.
For a graphic on the performance of commodities in euro
terms, click on the following link:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/0210/CMD_EUR0210.gif
Further underpinning the euro was a report that German
investor sentiment fell less sharply than expected in February,
suggesting Europe's largest economy might be more resilient than
feared. []
Expectations of an economic recovery have supported oil
prices near OPEC's comfort zone and the price of crude, which
went from a record in July 2008 above $147 to less than $33 at
the end of that year, has traded in a relatively tight $15 range
between $69 and $84 a barrel since the beginning of October.
U.S. oil inventory reports will be published a day later
than usual this week because of Monday's holiday. The American
Petroleum Institute will release statistics collated from
industry on Wednesday, followed by government data from the
Energy Information Administration on Thursday.
(Additional reporting by Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore;
editing by James Jukwey)
