Asian markets creep higher despite nerves

HONG KONG, March 8 (AFP): The Tokyo and Hong Kong stock markets edged higher in cautious Asian trade on Tuesday due to a slight easing in oil price pressures amid moves by the United States and OPEC to reassure markets. Tokyo's Nikkei was up 0.38 per cent in the morning and Hong Kong's Hang Seng had climbed 0.31 per cent, while Sydney and Shanghai were flat. Crude prices slipped after the United States refused to rule out tapping its oil reserves to ease the impact of high oil prices. The Financial Times also reported that OPEC members Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Nigeria were joining Saudi Arabia in raising output to allay fears of a supply crunch. Their efforts come as markets grow increasingly worried about the possibility that unrest across a swathe of North Africa and the Middle East could start to destabilise oil giant Saudi Arabia.