TOKYO, March 8 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures extended gains
towards $82 a barrel on Monday, their highest in nearly eight
weeks, in line with strong Asian shares and hopes for economic
recovery in the world's top oil consumer.
FUNDAMENTALS
* NYMEX crude for April delivery <CLc1> was up 35 cents at
$81.85 a barrel by 0037 GMT, after settling up $1.29 at $81.50 on
Friday.
It rose as high as $82.07 on Friday, its highest since Jan.
12.
* Friday's gains came as Wall Street rose, after a report
showed the United States lost fewer jobs than expected in
February, boosting economic recovery hopes.
* Money managers extended their net long crude oil futures
position on the New York Mercantile Exchange in the week through
March 2, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said on Friday.
[ID:nN05242375]
* The key speculator group hiked net long positions to
144,058 during the week, up from 132,504 in the week to Feb. 23
(see table below).
* Oil producers are pumping more crude than consumers need
but the oversupply is insufficient to have a big impact on the
market, Iran's OPEC governor said on Sunday. [ID:nLDE6260ER]
"There is some oversupply in the market," Mohammad Ali
Khatibi told Reuters in a telephone interview. "But it cannot
damage the market. It can be absorbed into stocks."
* Ecuador's oil minister Germanico Pinto told Reuters on
Friday that there was no need for an output cut at OPEC's March
17 meeting and that crude prices were "relatively stable."
* Pinto, who holds the rotating presidency of the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries this year, said
that there was no plan to cut back production at the upcoming
meeting in Vienna.
MARKETS NEWS
* Japan's Nikkei stock average and South Korea's shares
opened up more than 1 percent on Monday after the U.S. jobs data,
with exporters benefiting from a weaker yen and resource shares
from gains in commodities prices.
* U.S. stocks jumped and the Nasdaq hit an 18-month closing
high on Friday.
* The yen was broadly under pressure on Monday, while demand
for higher-yielding currencies was robust. [USD/]
DATA/EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Monday:
- 0930 GMT--Euro Zone Sentix Index/March
- 1500 GMT--U.S. Employment Trends/Feb
RELATED NEWS
> CNPC sees China oil output up 1-2 pct in 2010 [nTOE626008]
PRICES
Oil prices as of 0037 GMT
Contract Mnth Price Change Day ago pct MA-20*
NYMEX Contracts
US Crude APR0 $81.85 +0.35 +$1.29 +1.61% $77.59
Heat Oil APR0 211.00 +1.26 +2.87 +1.39% 200.77
RBOB APR0 228.62 +1.52 +3.73 +1.67% 205.77
Natgas APR0 $4.521 -0.072 +$0.018 +0.39% $5.033
ICE Contracts
Brent APR0 $80.25 +0.36 +$1.35 +1.72% $76.09
Gasoil MAR0 $651.75 +0.25 +$9.50 +1.48% $614.44
Note: U.S. heating oil and RBOB gasoline contracts listed in
cents per gallon.
* = 20-day moving average for continuation month.
(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Joseph Radford)