* Brent headed for 22 pct qtrly gain, biggest since Q2 2009
* Obama seeks to wean U.S. off a third of its oil imports
* Coming Up: U.S. weekly initial jobless claims
By Alejandro Barbajosa
SINGAPORE, March 31 (Reuters) - Brent crude rose 0.4 percent
towards $116 on Thursday, heading for the biggest quarterly gain
in almost two years as war, revolutions, and unrest across the
Middle East and North Africa thrusted supply constraints to the
forefront of investor concerns.
The global economic recovery also underpinned prices,
although Japan's worst crisis since World War II triggered a
dramatic reality check, resulting in the most turbulent and
volatile quarter for the oil market since the end of 2008.
Brent crude for May <LCOc1> advanced 42 cents on Thursday to
$115.55 a barrel at 0339 GMT, about $4 from a 2-1/2-year high
near $120 on Feb. 24, before it plunged to below $108 in the
aftermath of Japan's earthquake.
U.S. crude <CLc1> climbed 43 cents to $104.70.
Going forward, traders, analysts and investors see a new
floor for prices around $100 a barrel, supported by supply risks
and expanding economies. U.S. private employers added more than
200,000 jobs in March, a report showed on Wednesday, ahead of
government data on March non-farm payrolls due on Friday.
"The second quarter is a good period, and oil demand should
be increasing," said Tetsu Emori, a Tokyo-based commodities fund
manager at Astmax Investments, adding he expects U.S. crude to
end the year close to $120.
"The world economy should be quite positive, especially
after mid-May, and the downside for crude should be quite
limited because of the geopolitical risk of disruption to supply
in the Middle East and North Africa."
President Barack Obama has signed a secret order authorizing
covert U.S. government support for rebel forces seeking to oust
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, government officials told Reuters
on Wednesday. []
The United States is part of a coalition, with NATO members
and some Arab states, which is conducting air strikes on Libyan
government forces under a U.N. mandate aimed at protecting
civilians opposing Gaddafi.
Unrest in Libya erupted in February after revolutions
toppled the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia in January, igniting
protests against decades of autocratic rule in Syria, Yemen and
Bahrain and minor demonstrations in countries including Morocco,
Jordan, Algeria and Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter.
As Saudi Arabia increased production partly to compensate
for dwindling exports from Libya, concerns resurfaced that the
kingdom's spare production capacity was shrinking, leaving world
markets vulnerable to potential bigger disruptions.
RISKS TO DEMAND GROWTH
President Obama on Wednesday proposed to cut U.S. oil
imports by a third over 10 years, a goal that eluded his
predecessors and seen as extremely ambitious by analysts
sceptical it can succeed. []
Japan's nuclear disaster has raised concern that growth in
the world's third-largest economy may suffer. Japanese
manufacturing activity slumped to a two-year low in March and
posted its steepest monthly decline on record. []
Workers struggling to prevent more radiation from escaping
Japan's crippled nuclear plant face a hellish scenario -- with
every attempt to get it under control seemingly creating
life-threatening problems. []
A final resolution of the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima
Daiichi power station will likely take decades and experts say
there could be many further setbacks and frightening moments to
come, after Japan's strongest earthquake on record and an
ensuing tsunami hit the reactors on March 11.
(Editing by Ed Lane)
