* Stimulus, jobs data continue to support
* Crude slips from earlier high on profit-taking
* Coming Up: U.S. Employment index Oct; 1400 GMT
By Rebekah Kebede
PERTH, Nov 8 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil rose slightly on
Monday, trading near $87 a barrel on continued support from
last week's U.S. Federal Reserve's economic stimulus package
and stronger-than-expected jobs data.
Oil prices will likely to continue to trade in a tight
range near $87 a barrel on profit-taking and as the market
seeks additional cues on demand, analysts said.
"Crude's been relatively tame this morning. That's a good
indicator for what we're going to see for the remainder of the
week," said Geoff Howie, sales and market strategist at MF
Global in Singapore.
Traders will look for direction from Tuesday's U.S. small
business optimism survey as well as weekly job claims, Howie
said.
U.S. crude for December delivery <CLc1> rose 7 cents to
$86.92 a barrel by 0440 GMT. ICE Brent <LCOc1> slipped 7 cents
to $88.04.
The U.S. central bank said it would buy $75 billion in
Treasury bonds per month through mid-2011, totaling around $600
billion, to boost the nation's economy.
The stimulus news propelled crude oil to a two-year
intra-day high of $87.43 a barrel on Friday, the highest
intra-day price since hitting $89.82 on Oct. 9, 2008,
surpassing this year's previous peak of $87.15 on May 3.
Oil futures rose to $87.49 a barrel early on Monday, but
failed to set a fresh two-year high as the market pared its
gains in a round of profit-taking, analysts said.
U.S. jobs data, which showed private firms hiring at the
fastest pace since April, also supported the notion that the
world's largest economy is on its way to recovery and investor
demand for risk.
"What is really important is that the U.S. economy appears
to be back on track," MF Global's Howie said.
NEW RECORD?
While a new round of economic stimulus in the U.S. is
boosting the appeal of commodities, a sluggish but sustained
economic recovery in other industrialized economies and rampant
growth in emerging Asia are raising demand for energy and raw
materials.
Commodities continued to rise across the board on Monday
with the Reuters-Jefferies CRB index, a global commodities
benchmark, climbing above 313 points and gold touching a new
record.
"There certainly does seem to be some sense of urgency in
the oil market, with a growing perception that the cycle is
changing and a sense that the final debris from 2008 and 2009
is being cleared away," Barclays said in a weekly commodities
report.
Surging demand and the downward trajectory of inventories
may lead oil to trade in a broader range between $70 to $90,"
Barclays said.
"Oil, as long as it stays above this area, could be
considered a continued mover on to $90 and plus," said Jonathan
Barratt, managing director at Commodity Broking Services in
Melbourne, but added that he does not see fundamentals
supporting such a price.
Last week, OPEC's secretary general indicated that prices
of $90 a barrel would not hold back the world economy, a higher
level than previously identified as posing no risk to growth.
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(Editing by Manash Goswami)
