* Brent premium to U.S. crude widens toward $7
* Second major blizzard of winter hits U.S. Northeast
* Coming Up: US weekly jobless claims at 1330 GMT
(Updates throughout, previous SINGAPORE)
By Claire Milhench
LONDON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Brent oil futures climbed towards
$100 a barrel on Thursday, piling pressure on OPEC to raise
production to prevent high prices hurting the world economy.
European benchmark Brent <LCOc1> hit a session high of
$98.66, close to a 27-month high touched the previous day.
By 1105 GMT, it was 37 cents higher at $98.49, maintaining
an unusual premium to U.S. crude <CLc1>, which was down 17 cents
at $91.69 a barrel.
Brent's strength is the combination of technical factors and
investment flows, analysts said, and could fade away following
the expiry of the front-month contract on Friday.
The most bullish analysts, however, warn there is a risk of
a more sustained rally, which could knock back economic
recovery, if producers do not add oil to the market.
"If OPEC acts responsibly, they will increase output early
this year. We do believe that in this kind of environment OPEC
will be forced to raise production," said Sabine Schels,
commodity strategist at Merrill Lynch.
"If OPEC is not being responsible ... we could end up in a
situation similar to 2008, when we had a big rise in crude oil
prices and a subsequent collapse."
In July 2008, oil vaulted to a record of nearly $150 a
barrel before sinking to just above $30 in December of the same
year when OPEC agreed record supply cuts, which are still in
place.
Compared with two years ago, global inventories are
relatively comfortable and OPEC has ample spare capacity.
Hefty inventories in the United States, the world's biggest
oil burner, have pressured U.S. crude futures.
The latest data on stockpiles on Wednesday showed overall
crude stocks had fallen, but refined products had risen. []
Demand for fuel in the U.S. Northeast, the world's biggest
heating oil consumer, has risen following the second major
blizzard of the winter, although gasoline use has dropped as
some drivers stay at home. []
For further clues on economic health and its implications
for energy demand, markets will look to weekly U.S. employment
data due at 1330 GMT. The data released so far has delivered
mixed signals.
Traders will also monitor a speech by the European Central
Bank's Jean-Claude Trichet for any indication as to when the ECB
will raise rates.
(Additional reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov; editing by Barbara
Lewis and James Jukwey)
