* Prices reach new 2010 intraday peak of $84.54
* Investment inflows seen at start of new quarter
* U.S. crude inventories post 9th straight weekly gain-EIA
* Coming Up: U.S. nonfarm payrolls for March on Friday
(Updates throughout, pvs SINGAPORE)
By Christopher Johnson
LONDON, April 1 (Reuters) - Oil pushed up to a fresh
18-month high on Thursday, bolstered by talk of fresh inflows
from investors at the start of the new quarter.
The move higher came despite a stronger dollar, which often
dampens enthusiasm for commodities, and after news of yet
another build in U.S. crude oil inventories.
U.S. crude for May delivery <CLc1> rose 68 cents to $84.44 a
barrel by 0800 GMT, after hitting an intraday high of $84.54 and
settling at $83.76 a barrel on Wednesday, the highest close
since October 2008.
London ICE Brent <LCOc1> climbed 66 cents to $83.36.
Crude oil futures will not trade on Friday in either New
York or London because of the Easter holiday.
"Upward momentum is very strong," said Eugen Weinberg, head
of commodities research at Commerzbank in Frankfurt. "The market
is rising even with a stronger dollar and even after what were
bearish figures on U.S. inventory levels."
"Money is flowing into commodities at the beginning of the
new quarter from all sorts of investors, including funds."
Oil prices dipped briefly on Wednesday after government data
showed U.S. crude inventories rose by 2.9 million barrels to
354.2 million barrels last week, their ninth straight gain.
Gasoline stockpiles logged a modest but unexpected gain. []
But the market soon returned to strength.
"SIMMERING TENSIONS"
"We suspect that with the dollar no longer rallying, (at
least for now), commodity markets have been able to build a head
of steam. In addition, simmering geopolitical tensions could
also be at work," said Edward Meir at brokers MF Global.
He said talk of a possible new round of sanctions against
Iran, maybe within weeks rather than months, could be
underpinning the market. But he added a note of caution:
"With respect to short-term pricing trends, we suspect there
might be a temporary pause in the rally," Meir said.
"Although the market will likely take this level out given
the way it has been trading of late, we still would caution
against joining this latest advance, tempting as it might be."
U.S. front-month crude oil rose 5.5 percent in the first
quarter, its fifth consecutive gain. But although it has more
than doubled from a December 2008 low, it is still well short of
a record high near $150 a barrel hit earlier that year.
Oil producers and consumers hope to tackle that volatility
in annual meetings on the outlook for energy markets, part of an
effort to deepen cooperation between producer and consumer
members of the International Energy Forum. []
"This is a very big achievement. Years ago the producers and
consumers had absolutely (no) dialogue. We are seeing a lot of
change," Qatar Oil Minister Abdullah al-Attiyah said.
After the wide swings in the past two years, prices have
stabilised recently near the range favoured by members of the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) between
$70 and $80 a barrel.
Last quarter, oil traded from a peak of $83.95 in January to
as low as $69.50 a barrel in February, a range of less than $15.
Implied volatility for U.S. crude is now around its lowest
level since before prices surged to a record $147.27 a barrel on
July 11, 2008, before plummeting to $32.40 five months later.
With commodities markets still closely watching economic
developments, investors await Friday's non-farm U.S. payrolls
for March, forecast to have increased in a Reuters survey.
A rise would mark only the second time payrolls have risen
since the recession started in December 2007, although this
might be partly on the back of hiring for the 2010 census.
[]
(Additional reporting by Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore;
editing by James Jukwey)
