* U.S. consumer confidence up, NY manufacturing rose
* China's first quarter growth outpaces expectations
* Coming Up: US CFTC commitment of traders report 1930 GMT
* Goldman says pare commodities short-term
(Recasts, adding comments and price data throughout.)
NEW YORK, April 15 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil rose on
Friday for a third straight day, as improving U.S. consumer
confidence and industrial production boosted the oil demand
outlook and investors brushed off the latest Goldman Sachs
recommendation to prune commodities portfolios.
U.S. crude futures <CLc1> for May traded up $1.68 to
$109.79 a barrel by 11:59 a.m. EDT (16:59 GMT). ICE Brent crude
<LCOc1> for June, the new front-month contract, rose $1.70 to
$123.70 a barrel.
A U.S. government report showed underlying inflation
pressures remained contained in March, while a survey showed
April consumer sentiment rose more than expected. Investors
have been concerned higher energy and food costs would slow
consumer spending. [] []
A gauge of manufacturing in economic powerhouse New York
State rose in April to the highest level in a year and
employment improved, the New York Federal Reserve said Friday.
[]
China's gross domestic product grew by 9.7 percent in the
first quarter from a year earlier, off the 9.8 percent growth
rate in the last quarter of 2010, but ahead of the 9.5 percent
pace that analysts had expected. []
"Consumer confidence and supportive Empire State
manufacturing data helped turn the market more positive and
China's growth, while slightly slower, is still chugging along
at a 9.7 percent rate," said Gene McGillian, analyst at
Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.
U.S. bank Goldman Sachs, in a note Friday, recommended
investors go underweight commodities for three to six months,
after sharp price rises so far this year. In an earlier note on
Monday, Goldman had warned clients it expected a correction in
commodities markets, prompting oil to fall earlier this week.
Oil prices have "pushed ahead" of supply and demand
fundamentals and "near-term" downside risk has risen after
prices climbed to "exceptionally high levels," Goldman told
clients in the latest note, while it maintained its outlook for
rising oil prices over a longer, 12-month horizon, on growing
global fuel demand.
Brent crude shot to a 32-month high over $126 a barrel on
April 8 while U.S. crude topped $113 a barrel as markets braced
for long-term disruptions due to the conflict in OPEC member
Libya, but prices fell back from those levels on signs global
oil supply was ample to meet demand.
U.S. government figures showing gasoline stocks fell
sharply last week by a much larger-than-expected 7 million
barrels helped to bring supply concerns back to traders'
attention. []
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Stories on Middle East unrest: []
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Factbox on oil prices:
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Libya Graphics
http://link.reuters.com/neg68r
Interactive graphic
http://link.reuters.com/puk87r
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(Reporting by Joshua Schneyer, Robert Gibbons and Matthew
Robinson in New York; Christopher Johnson in London: Florence
Tan in Singapore; Editing by David Gregorio)
