* Brent lifted by rising euro zone business morale
* Dollar weakness supportive to oil, other commodities
* Rising U.S. stockpiles helps curb U.S. oil prices
* Coming up: CFTC positions data, 3:30 p.m. EST Friday
(Recasts, updates market activity, Brent price, adds U.S.
settlement price)
By Robert Gibbons
NEW YORK, Jan 21 (Reuters) - ICE Brent crude futures rose
above $97 a barrel on Friday on lift from rising German and
French business sentiment which boosted the euro to a two-month
peak against the dollar while U.S. oil ended a choppy session
lower, stalling just above $89.
Brent's premium to U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate
crude <CL-LCO1=R> rose to $8.59, its highest since February
2009, as Europe's benchmark, boosted by strong emerging market
demand, tight North Sea crude supplies and a trading firm's
control of double-digit North Sea cargoes.
The oil complex was supported by news that German business
morale jumped in January to its highest level in 20 years,
according to the Munich-based Ifo economic institute. while
French data also showed rising confidence. []
The euro, also helped by Asian demand, rose to a two-month
high versus the dollar. []
U.S. crude oil prices slipped as the crude inventory rise
reported on Thursday, the first in seven weeks, had investors
concerned that more stock builds could be coming as deliveries
delayed because of year-end tax issues start to arrive.
In London, ICE Brent crude for March <LCOc1> rose 97 cents
to $97.55 a barrel at 2:52 p.m. EST (1952 GMT), still on track
for a weekly loss after reaching $99.20 last Friday, as the
Brent February crude contract expired.
U.S. crude oil for March delivery <CLc1> fell 48 cents to
settle at $89.11 a barrel, trading from $88.87 to $90.22. U.S.
crude posted a 2.65 percent loss for the week.
"A combined move with the weaker dollar and improving
business confidence in Germany is supporting oil. On Thursday
we saw a very strong support point... We could see a test of
the upper level, which is $99.20 for Brent," said Thorbjorn Bak
Jensen, an analyst at A/S Global Risk Management Ltd.
U.S. gasoline <RBc1> and heating oil <HOc1> futures rose on
Friday, despite rising inventories. The U.S. heating oil profit
margin, or crack spread, <CL-HO1=R> reached $22.54 a barrel,
highest since Jan. 20, 2009, when the profit margin reached
$25.42.
The dollar's weakness and the euro zone business sentiment
data were able to limit U.S. crude oil's losses and did lift
prices in early trading on Friday.
The weak dollar also lifted dollar-denominated copper
[] and limited the losses of gold, which was pressured by
a firmer appetite for higher risk assets on expectations the
economy was recovering.
U.S. crude prices had a sharp price retreat on Thursday as
the U.S. February contract expired, triggered by the
government's report of inventory builds [] and concerns
China may take more measures to cool stubborn inflation,
resulting in slower growth in oil demand.
BRENT/WTI
As the Brent/WTI spread soared to a near two-year high,
four North Sea Brent oil and gas platforms, which shut down on
Saturday, were expected to remain closed for several weeks,
platform operator Shell <RDSa.L> said Friday. []
While shutting in significant natural gas production, but
only 20,000 barrels per day of crude oil output, the news
helped keep bullish sentiment for Brent intact.
Nigeria has raised the official selling price (OSP) for its
competing benchmark Bonny Light and Qua Iboe crude oil grades
in February to dated Brent plus $1.90 a barrel, up 15 cents
from January, a trade source said on Friday.
As the Brent/WTI soars, some analysts were cautioning about
the potential for a correction.
"The spread is starting to get rather stretched and when it
does get rather stretched there is usually a sharp correction
at some point," said Michael Hewson, a market analyst at CMC
markets.
(Additional reporting by Gene Ramos in New York and Jessica
Donati in London;editing by Sofina Mirza-Reid)
