* Japan Nikkei shares fall more than 6 percent
* Japan's refined oil products, gas demand likely to rise
* Saudi troops enter Bahrain to protect govt buildings
(Updates prices, nuclear)
By Ikuko Kurahone
LONDON, March 14 (Reuters) - Oil slipped on Monday on
concerns over the economic impact from Japan's earthquake and
tsunami, although prices were off two week lows, underpinned by
continued unrest in oil rich North Africa and the Middle East.
ICE Brent crude <LCOc1> was trading $1.17 lower at $112.67 a
barrel by 1239 GMT, trimming an earlier loss to a two week low
of $111.16. U.S. crude <CLc1> fell $1.49 to $99.67, after
hitting an intraday low of $98.55.
Prices pushed off the lows after a report some 1,000 Saudi
soldiers entered Bahrain early on Monday to protect government
facilities following recent unrest by the country's Shi'ite
Muslim majority, a Saudi official source said. []
Bahrain, which lies off the coast of Saudi Arabia, called in
forces from its Sunni neighbours to put down unrest by its
Shi'ite Muslim majority after protesters overwhelmed police and
blocked roads in a resurgence of mass protests seen last month.
Christopher Bellew with Bache Commodities said the unrest in
oil rich North Africa and the Middle East would continue to
provide support to oil prices.
"With the continuing and arguably worsening unrest in the
Middle East, I would expect the oil market to move higher
again," he said.
Still, global markets remained under pressure due to the
catastrophe in Japan, where oil demand from the world number
three energy consumer, was expected to fall in the short to
medium term as economic activity stalls following the quake.
"Japanese stocks fell sharply as the impact on the Japanese
economy from the massive earthquake on Friday is worrying. Asian
shares were dragged lower and the trend has been to avert risks,
including oil," analysts with Japan's Mizuho Corporate Bank said
in its commodities research note.
Japan's Nikkei stock average <> fell more than 6
percent, dragging global equities lower. Global commodities
prices mostly fell. [][]
Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Sunday said the country was
facing its biggest disaster since the second world war. The
earthquake and tsumami on Friday devastated a large part of
northeast Japan, killing at least 10,000 people. []
Nuclear power plants' coolant systems failed and two
explosions hit the Fukushima nuclear plant. Operator Tokyo
Electric Power Co <9501.T> was struggling to keep coolant water
in one reactor core.
Many other nuclear plants and oil refineries have been shut.
Ports and other infrastructure sustained severe damage.
Refined oil products and gas prices, however, were
outperforming crude oil prices due to an expected increase in
import demand in coming weeks and months from Japan to cover
lost oil refining and nuclear power generation capacity.
<NEWOILOIL> <NGc1> []
Construction shares were up in Asia as northeast Japan was
expected to need extensive reconstruction work.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Factbox on Japan quake tears through commodity, energy
sectors: []
SPECIAL REPORT-Can Japan find "New Deal"? []
Quake to hit Japan economy, lift debt []
Nuclear incident scale: http://r.reuters.com/cag58r
Map of reactors: http://r.reuters.com/dyf58r
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
In Libya, Muammar Gaddafi's troops battled rebel fighters
for control of the strategic oil town of Brega, while France was
stepping up efforts to persuade world powers to impose a no-fly
zone over Libya.
More than half of Libya's 1.6 million barrels per day oil
output has been shut in due to the unrest.
In Yemen, heavy gunfire was heard south of the capital on
Monday and soldiers deployed in force in Sanaa itself, with a
new wave of rallies reported across the country demanding that
President Ali Abdullah Saleh quit. []
(Reporting by Ikuko Kurahone in London, Alejandro Barbajosa in
Singapore; editing by Keiron Henderson)
