Crude oil climbs a fourth day as Middle East violence escalates

DUBAI, Apr 25 (Bloomberg): Crude oil gained for a fourth day in New York, the longest rising streak since December, as escalating violence in the Middle East and Africa threatens to prolong supply disruptions. Futures advanced as much as 0.7 per cent after Syrian security forces detained at least 200 protesters while unrest showed no sign of ending in Yemen. US Senator John McCain said rebels in Libya need more assistance in the fight against Muammar Qaddafi's forces. Saudi Arabia, holder of the world's largest crude reserves, has no plans to raise production capacity, an oil official said. Political developments in the Middle East and North Africa are providing the main support for prices, according to a report from JBC Energy received by e-mail Monday. "The oil market remains fraught with uncertainty," the Vienna-based analysts said. "Most of it is related to possibilities in the future, including the developments in all the geopolitical hotspots, the inflation threat and its impact on the economy," as well as a possible decrease in demand due to high prices. Oil for June delivery rose as much as 78 cents to $113.07 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That's the highest intraday price since April 11, when futures reached $113.46, the most since September 2008. The contract was at $112.70 at 10:06am in London. Brent crude oil for June settlement increased 36 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to $124.35 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Most European countries have a public holiday Monday for Easter Monday. Reports that Saudi Arabia may boost its output capacity to 15 million barrels a day aren't true, the official said by telephone yesterday, declining to be identified by name because he isn't authorized to speak publicly. Oil has advanced 23 per cent this year, stoked by turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa that has toppled leaders in Egypt and Tunisia and spread to Libya, Algeria, Bahrain, Iran, Oman, Syria and Yemen. Libyan crude output, which averaged 1.6 million barrels a day last year, fell to 390,000 barrels a day in March. Political strife in Nigeria, Africa's largest producer and the fourth-biggest crude seller to the US, is also supporting prices above $100 a barrel, according to Ken Hasegawa, an energy trading manager at Newedge, a broker in Tokyo. At least 500 people died in religious rioting that followed Nigeria's presidential election, the Associated Press reported today. The country is scheduled to hold state governorship elections today (Tuesday). Qaddafi's forces fired shells and rockets at Misrata Sunday, countering Libyan government claims that the army was holding its fire into the western city, the Associated Press reported. In Syria, 200 to 300 people have been detained since April 22, Mahmoud Merhi, who heads the Arab Organization for Human Rights, said in an interview from Damascus. "The ongoing coordinated actions in Libya to remove Qaddafi, if that is the actual purpose, is adding to the nervousness, prompting new buying in crude oil," John Caiazzo, president of Acuvest Commodity Brokers Inc. in Temecula, California, said in a report today. "Other producing areas experiencing turmoil include Yemen and Syria, where protesters are being killed as well." Demonstrators Sunday rallied in Sana'a, Yemen's capital, demanding President Ali Abdullah Saleh's unconditional departure. The leader has agreed with the opposition to a Gulf Cooperation Council-brokered peace plan. Brent crude for June was at a premium of $11.54 a barrel to New York futures settling in the same month, Bloomberg data showed. The premium has shrunk $2.38 from a week earlier on signs that supplies are falling at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for West Texas Intermediate grade. Bullish bets on crude climbed in the past week, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's weekly Commitments of Traders report. Net-long positions in oil increased 8,337 futures and options combined, or 3 percent, to 289,916, according to the CFTC report. U.S. crude inventories fell 2.32 million barrels to 357 million, the first drop since February, the Energy Department said April 21. Cushing stockpiles declined 770,000 barrels to 41 million barrels, the biggest drop since April 2.