* OPEC may consider new 1 million bpd cut in March-source
* U.S. crude stocks seen up for sixth straight time
* Reuters poll shows OPEC makes 67 pct of pledged cut
* Nigeria oil union threatens strike from Feb. 9
(Updates prices with U.S. settlement, details on stock market
and pending home sales)
By Richard Valdmanis
NEW YORK, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Tuesday
after OPEC signaled it might deepen its record output cuts to
help boost prices and drain bloated stockpiles.
Oil's gains were encouraged by an uptick on the equities
markets, after better-than-expected U.S. pending home sales
data boosted sentiment about the economy.
U.S. light crude for March delivery <CLc1> rose 70 cents to
settle at $40.78 a barrel, while London Brent <LCOc1> rose 26
cents to $44.08 a barrel.
The president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries told Reuters Tuesday the group could add to its
agreed output cuts of 4.2 million barrels per day when it meets
on March 15.
"Prices do seem to have bottomed for now," said Kevin
Norrish of Barclays Capital. "OPEC has probably taken more than
enough off the market and there's a risk of over-tightening, in
which case prices would go back up fairly swiftly."
Slowing economic growth in the United States, China, Japan
and other major consumers has dampened fuel use, swelled stocks
and knocked more than $100 a barrel off the price of crude
since its July peak near $150.
OPEC has aggressively countered the consumption slowdown
with deep output cuts and a Reuters survey showed the group,
which pumps a third of the world's oil, had carried out about
67 percent of its production curb in January.
Algeria's oil minister said Tuesday that there was a 50
percent chance the cartel could cut more production in March.
"OPEC's latest adherence to their production cuts has been
phenomenal," said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading in
Chicago. "And the fact that the stock market was up today on a
bit of good economic news on housing -- all helped to pull up
crude futures today," he added.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 1.3 percent
Tuesday, helped by data showing pending sales of previously
owned U.S. homes surged in December. []
Adding support to prices Tuesday were oil worker labor
disputes in the United States, Europe and Nigeria -- though
none had hurt supplies yet.
Negotiators were hashing out a contract for U.S. refinery
and pipeline workers amid the threat of a strike that would
shut some 10 percent of the nation's fuel production capacity
within days.
In Europe, hundreds of contract workers at British energy
facilities were protesting the use of foreign workers, though
operations at refineries, power plants and pipelines remained
unaffected.
In Nigeria, the senior oil workers' union threatened to
begin an indefinite strike Monday unless the government
improved security in the Niger Delta, its restive oil
heartland.
Dealers were also awaiting U.S. crude inventory data due to
be released by the American Petroleum Institute Tuesday.
Analysts said the report was likely to show stocks rose for the
sixth time in a row as refinery utilization remained curbed by
seasonal maintenance. [].
(Additional reporting by Peg Mackey in London, Annika
Breidthardt in Singapore; Editing by Walter Bagley)
