SINGAPORE, March 15 (Reuters) - U.S. oil was steady above
$101 on Tuesday, with investors weighing the risk from Saudi
Arabia's troop deployment to Bahrain and wider tensions in the
Middle East against the near-term demand sapping impact from
Japan's earthquake.
Brent was also little changed -- down about 0.2 percent from
Monday -- while natural gas extended gains on expectation
that Japan will buy more LNG and other hydrocarbons to make up
for the loss of nuclear power capacity.
FUNDAMENTALS
* U.S. crude for April edged up 11 cents to $101.30 a
barrel by 0035 GMT, after recovering on Monday from a nadir of
$98.47, the lowest intraday price since March 1.
* Brent crude futures for April delivery fell 14
cents to $113.53 a barrel.
* About 1,000 Saudi soldiers entered Bahrain to protect
government facilities, a Saudi official source said, a day after
mainly Shi'ite protesters overran police and blocked roads.
Opponents of the Sunni ruling family in Bahrain called the move
a declaration of war.
* The White House said the United States did not consider
Saudi's actions an invasion.
* Traders reexamined the likely consequences from the
earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan, looking beyond the
short-term reduction in economic activity that originally
knocked oil prices lower toward a pick-up in fuel imports.
* A range of analysts said total crude and oil product
imports could rise by 200,000 barrels per day or more after the
closure of a fifth of Japan's nuclear power plants and nearly a
third of its refining capacity.
* A fresh explosion rocked a damaged Japanese nuclear power
plant where engineers have been pumping sea water into a reactor
to prevent a catastrophic meltdown in the wake of the
devastating quake and tsunami.
* Muammar Gaddafi's jets bombed Libyan rebels in a
counter-offensive that has pushed them back 100 miles (160 km)
in a week, far outpacing diplomatic efforts to impose a no-fly
zone to help the rebels.
* China faces a tough balance between creating jobs and
cooling inflation, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said, denying that
his government risks the kind of political upheaval besetting
parts of the Middle East.
* U.S. crude stockpiles rose last week on higher imports and
as refinery utilization edged lower as seasonal maintenance
continued, a preliminary Reuters poll ahead of weekly inventory
data showed.
* For top stories in oil and other news, click ,
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MARKET NEWS
* World stocks slid to six-week lows on Monday and the yen
rose as the devastating toll from Japan's earthquake unfolded,
raising fears of the impact on industries ranging from insurance
to nuclear power.
* The dollar fell against the yen and could test its
all-time lows as Japanese insurers and companies repatriated
funds to help pay claims and reconstruction costs in the wake of
the country's devastating earthquake.
* The euro zone is likely to increase guarantees for its
bailout fund to boost its effective lending capacity, Eurogroup
President Jean-Claude Juncker said, but a deal was likely only
next week.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0000 Japan BOJ rate decision Mar 2011
0800 OECD IEA Oil Market Report Mar
1000 Germany ZEW economic sentiment Mar 2011
1145 U.S. ICSC chain stores yy Weekly
1230 U.S. Import prices mm Feb
1400 U.S. NAHB housing market index Mar
1815 U.S. FOMC rate decision Jan
2030 U.S. API petroleum stocks Weekly
(Reporting by Randy Fabi)
