* Possible U.S. stimulus package supportive
* European, Japanese stock markets slip
* Dismal U.S. jobs data weigh
* OPEC president says to cut output again in March if needed
(Recasts, updates detail, prices)
By Christopher Johnson
LONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Oil ticked up above $40 a barrel
on Monday as expectations of a giant U.S. economic stimulus
package balanced signs of declining oil demand and a lower
opening on European stock markets.
Tough talk from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) that it would cut output again if needed at its
March meeting, violence in Nigeria and renewed tensions between
Iran and the West also lent some support.
U.S. crude for March delivery <CLc1> rose 23 cents to $40.40
a barrel by 1002 GMT. London Brent <LCOc1> climbed 22 cents to
$46.43.
Christopher Bellew, broker at Bache Commodities in London,
said both of the main oil futures contracts were trading within
well established boundaries.
"The market is essentially range-bound," Bellew said.
European equities fell in early trade on Monday, with banks
and oils leading losses as investors awaited the approval of
Washington's massive stimulus plan and bank rescue package.
[]. Japanese stocks also fell [].
Top aides to President Barack Obama on Sunday urged
Democratic and Republican lawmakers to set aside political
differences and quickly approve a massive economic stimulus
package this week, as the world's largest economy suffers from
the worst financial crisis in 70 years. []
Later on Monday, the Democratic-led Senate, with the help of
a handful of Republicans, was due to vote to end debate on the
$827 billion plan to clear the way for its passage on Tuesday.
Oil prices fell on Friday after news of steep job cuts in
the United States, where nearly 600,000 jobs were slashed last
month, the most severe cut since December 1974 prompting worries
of still weaker demand in the world's biggest oil consumer.
[]
The financial malaise, which first sprang from home loan
defaults in the United States, has swiftly spread to Europe and
Asia, pushing a string of industrialised nations into recession.
The economic slowdown has depressed energy demand around the
world, causing prices to plummet more than $100 from a peak of
near $150 struck last July.
OPEC will take whatever action is necessary to balance the
oil market when it next meets on March 15, the group's president
said in a statement on Friday. []
OPEC sources have indicated the group could cut a further 1
million bpd from output when it next meets, adding to the 4.2
million bpd in cuts announced since September.
Renewed violence in Nigeria also helped buoy oil prices.
Nigerian militants attacked a gas plant operated by Royal Dutch
Shell <RDSa.L> in the Niger Delta on Saturday and warned of more
attacks to come, but the army said it had repelled the raid and
killed three gunmen. []
On the geopolitical front, Western powers said on Saturday
Iran risked isolation and more sanctions if it did not comply
with demands to rein in its nuclear programme, but Washington
also reaffirmed its offer for talk with Tehran. []
(Reporting by Christopher Johnson in London and Fayen Wong
in Perth; editing by Keiron Henderson)
