* U.S. crude and Brent both rise more than $1 per barrel
* OPEC keeps output targets, wants prices at $70 to $80/bbl
* Eyes on China monetary policy with rate rise expected
* Coming Up: ECB President Trichet speech; 1830 GMT
(Updates detail, comment, prices)
By Christopher Johnson and Una Galani
LONDON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Oil rose more than a dollar on
Monday in line with other commodities after OPEC agreed to keep
output targets unchanged despite a surge in heating fuel demand.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
decided on Saturday, as expected, to maintain its production
policy and leading member Saudi Arabia said it still favoured
oil prices between $70 and $80 per barrel. []
Oil has surged to above $90 this month as sub-zero
temperatures have swept across Europe, the United States and
parts of east Asia leading to higher than normal energy
consumption for this time of year. [] []
U.S. crude for January <CLc1> rose $1.30 to $89.09 a barrel
by 1224 GMT. ICE Brent <LCOc1> jumped $1.61 to a high of $92.09.
"What's happening right now is, I think, support from very
cold weather and increasing demand, mainly from Europe," said
Christophe Barret, global oil analyst for French bank Credit
Agricole. "Europe will remain very cold."
Strong Chinese macro-economic data at the weekend helped
boost optimism among financial investors for the entire
commodities spectrum, said Carsten Fritsch, an oil analyst at
Commerzbank in Frankfurt, as copper hit a fresh high in London.
[]
Bullish sentiment was underlined by oil price hawk
Venezuela, which called at the OPEC meeting for $100 oil and
said OPEC should not lift output again through the end of 2011.
Expectations of higher oil prices have drawn investors into
U.S. crude oil futures also known as West Texas Intermediate,
data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission shows.
Speculators raised their net long positions in U.S. crude
futures to a record high in the seven days to Dec. 7, the day
prices hit $90 a barrel for the first time in over two years.
STRONG FUNDAMENTALS
Several reports, including one from the International Energy
Agency last week raising its 2011 oil demand growth forecast,
have indicated that fundamentals are strong, with oil stocks
beginning to fall from historically high levels. []
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For oil price forecasts, click: http://r.reuters.com/juq29q
For oil in different currencies: http://r.reuters.com/kuq29q
For OECD days forward cover: http://r.reuters.com/muq29q
For global oil supply/demand forecasts:
http://r.reuters.com/het29q
For OPEC news and analysis, click: []
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But markets are worried that much of the strength in
commodities stems from China, where inflation rose to a 28-month
high of 5.1 percent in November, the National Bureau of
Statistics said on Saturday.
"The fact is that much higher-than-expected inflation data
(in China) is being ignored today but this may change as soon as
tomorrow," Fritsch cautioned.
Chinese authorities have begun to tighten money supply and
are expected to raise interest rates before the end of the year,
according to a Reuters poll. []
Traders are watching closely for any policy moves that
would dampen demand in the world's number one energy consumer.
"We believe a rate rise will come through sooner rather than
later, and that this will ultimately trigger a correction in a
number of already overheated commodity markets," said Edward
Meir, senior commodity correspondent at brokers MF Global.
China's implied oil demand in November rose 13.7 percent
from a year earlier to a record of nearly 9.3 million barrels
per day, Reuters calculations based on preliminary official data
showed on Monday. []
(Additional reporting by Rebekah Kebede in Perth; editing by
Keiron Henderson)
