* U.S. crude at 30-month highs on fear unrest may spread
* Global stocks fall as oil concerns prompt growth worries
* Euro gains against U.S. dollar on hawkish ECB talk
* Government debt prices gain on safe-haven buying
(Adds fresh prices)
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, Feb 22 (Reuters) - World stocks tumbled on
Tuesday as revolt in Libya drove crude prices to 30-month highs
and rekindled fears of slower global growth if the unrest
spreads to other major oil suppliers in the region.
Crude prices surged in New York and London, where prices
for North Sea Brent <LCOc1> touched $108.57 a barrel before
trimming gains after Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi
said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
would meet any supply shortages. For details seen
[]
Libya declared force majeure on all oil product exports as
political violence shut more than 13 percent of the country's
1.6 million barrels per day of crude production.
The Swiss franc, traditionally sought in times of
heightened geopolitical tension, firmly gained against the euro
as concerns about oil supplies cooled risk appetites and sent
investors into safe-haven assets such government debt.
Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi vowed to die in Libya as a
martyr and said he would crush a revolt which has seen eastern
regions already break free from his rule. []
Libya ranks third in Africa after Nigeria and Angola in oil
production and investors are concerned that the spread of
violence in North Africa and the Middle East might disrupt the
supply of oil exports from the region.
U.S. crude <CLc1> for March delivery, which expires at the
end of the session, rose $7.13 to $93.34 a barrel. The more
actively traded April contract gained $5.27 to trade at $94.98
a barrel.
"The major underlying fear in the market is that these
protests spread in the region to even larger producers like
Saudi Arabia," said Andy Lebow, a trader at MF Global in New
York. "While that might not look likely right now, even a hint
of real problems there could send prices vertical."
Global stocks, as measured by MSCI's all-country world
index <.MIWD00000PUS>, fell 1.5 percent and much of Wall Street
fell 2 percent before the benchmark S&P 500 pared some losses.
Higher oil prices hit certain stocks on concerns of higher
fuel costs. The Arca airline index <.XAL> fell 5.1 percent.
Still, U.S. consumer confidence rose to a three-year high
in February, but a drop in home prices for the sixth month in a
row in December suggested the economy still faces significant
hurdles. []
The Dow Jones industrial average <> was down 170.40
points, or 1.38 percent, at 12,220.85. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> was down 25.30 points, or 1.88 percent, at
1,317.71. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> was down 66.74
points, or 2.36 percent, at 2,767.21.
The price of the 30-year U.S. Treasury bond <US30YT=RR>
rose more than a full point and the benchmark 10-year rose
nearly a full point as the unrest in Libya prompted investors
to swap riskier assets for safe-haven bonds. []
The 10-year U.S. Treasury note <US10YT=RR> was up 29/32 in
price to yield 3.47 percent, while the 30-year bond last traded
1-10/32 higher in price to yield 4.61 percent.
Gold fell back below $1,400 an ounce as bullion investors
took profits from the previous session's safe-haven rally.
[]
Spot gold prices <XAU=> fell $6.25 to $1,399.70 an ounce.
(Additional reporting by Edward Krudy, Gertrude
Chavez-Dreyfuss, Chris Reese and Julie Haviv in New York;
Writing by Herbert Lash, Editing by Andrew Hay and Chizu
Nomiyama)
