* U.S. oil price rises above $36
* UAE follows OPEC deal with cuts to customers
* Expectations of slowing energy demand weigh
(Updates prices, paras 2-3)
By Barbara Lewis
LONDON, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Oil climbed above $36 a barrel on
Friday after the United Arab Emirates joined leading exporter
Saudi Arabia in deepening supply curbs in line with OPEC's
biggest ever output cut announced last week.
U.S. crude <CLc1> gained $1.03 to $36.38 a barrel by 1435
GMT, off a session high of $36.90.
London Brent <LCOc1> rose 85 cents to $37.46.
"The only positive news (for the market)... came from the
UAE," Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix wrote in a report. "For now
at least, Saudi Arabia and the UAE seem to be fully complying
with the cuts."
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC), the main producer in the
UAE, the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, said it would cut
supplies of February Murban and Upper Zakum by 15 percent and
Lower Zakum and Umm Shaif by 10 percent each. []
A source with an Asian refiner said the ADNOC cuts were more
than expected.
"ADNOC had already allocated January volumes, but they
reversed the decision, so that messes up our schedule," the
source said. "For February, the reduction volumes are very
large, so we may need to adjust our ship loadings."
The allocations follow a decision last week by the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to reduce
supplies by 2.2 million barrels per day.
Saudi Arabia informed its customers even before the OPEC
meeting they would be receiving less oil.
The OPEC reduction is its deepest ever as the producer group
battles a market slump that has sliced more than $110 off the
price since a July peak above $147 a barrel.
Trading volume was thin on Friday after oil markets were
closed on Thursday to mark Christmas Day.
On Wednesday, U.S. crude had settled more than $3 lower
after U.S. inventory data showed a fall in crude stocks, but
rises in inventories of refined products and another slowdown in
fuel demand.
Negative economic data, including figures showing jobless
claims in the United States, the world's biggest oil burner, had
risen to a 26-year high and that consumers had cut spending for
the fifth consecutive month in November, deepened the
bearishness.
Asian economies, once seen as a guarantee of high oil demand
even if the United States faltered, have not escaped.
Deepening recession is expected to cut oil demand in Japan,
the world's third biggest oil consumer after the United States
and China, by almost 5 percent in the year starting April.
Consumption was also seen sliding by 5.7 percent in the
fiscal year ending next March, the Institute of Energy
Economics, Japan, said this week. []
(additional reporting by Osamu Tsukimori in Tokyo)
