SINGAPORE, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Crude oil eased on Monday,
but held above the $91 a barrel mark on optimism the gathering
momentum in the global economic recovery would drive demand
growth and send prices into triple-digit territory later this
year.
FUNDAMENTALS
* NYMEX crude for February <CLc1> slipped 4 cents to
$91.34 a barrel by 0015 GMT in holiday-thinned trade, after
jumping $1.54, or 1.71 percent, to settle at $91.38 a barrel
on Friday, marking the highest end-December settlement since
2007.
* Warmer weather forecasts after the blizzard that
pummeled the U.S. Northeast have cast doubts on sustained
domestic demand for heating fuel, and could cap gains in oil
prices.
* The Institute for Supply Management will publish its
high-profile measure of U.S. factory activity on Monday, which
is expected to show the pace of expansion in the manufacturing
sector had quickened modestly in December, reinforcing signs
of the economy's gradual recovery. Economists are forecasting
the ISM's factory activity index to edge higher to 56.9 from
56.6. Readings above 50 point to growth. []
* Iran's OPEC governor said on Friday the global demand
for OPEC oil will increase in 2011, oil ministry website SHANA
reported. []
MARKET NEWS
* Upbeat U.S. data on the jobs market and manufacturing
sector last week has already boosted expectations that the
economy gained momentum as the year ended, setting the stage
for a stronger performance in 2011. []
* The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago's business
barometer for the Midwest offered an even more bullish signal
-- jumping to 68.6, the highest since July 1988, from 62.5 in
November, contrary to forecasts of a dip. The gauge mirrored
strong gains in measures of factory activity in other regional
surveys reported last week.
* The U.S. National Association of Realtors also said its
pending home sales index, which is based on signed contracts
to buy previously owned houses, rose 3.5 percent in November
to 92.2. It was the second straight month of gains and beat
market expectations for a 2 percent increase.
* U.S. stocks closed out a year of double-digit gains and
the S&P's best December since 1991 with a quiet and
little-changed session on Friday as investors found no reason
to make big bets ahead of the new year.
* The U.S. dollar ended a volatile year on Friday a bit
firmer than where it began, with investors gearing up for
gains in early 2011 on expectations the U.S. economic recovery
was gaining momentum.
* China's factory inflation cooled in December as
manufacturers expanded more slowly after a strong run in
growth, lessening the need for the country's central bank to
tighten monetary policy too far. The official Chinese
purchasing managers' index (PMI) edged down to 53.9 in
December from November's 55.2, falling short of a median
forecast of 55.5 in a Reuters poll of 12 economists.
[]
* Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao vowed again over the weekend
to step up efforts to keep consumer inflation in check in
2011. "The central government has taken a slew of steps to
stabilise prices. We will put it higher up on our agenda,"
state television quoted Wen as saying, repeating the top
leadership's line since inflation hit a 28-month high in
November. []
(GMT) DATA/EVENTS
The following data is expected on Monday:
1500 Nov U.S. Construction Spending
1500 Dec U.S. ISM Manufacturing Index
(Reporting by Jennifer Tan; Editing by Manash Goswami)
