NYMEX-Oil steady as Iran talks of banning sales to Europe

SINGAPORE Jan 27 (Reuters) – U.S. crude futures held
steady close to $100 in early Asian trade on Friday as supply
threats escalated after Iran said it may stop oil exports to the
European Union, pre-empting an embargo by the zone to ban
purchases from July 1.

U.S. crude rose 4 cents to $99.74 a barrel by 0025
GMT, settling 30 cents higher and touching a session high of
$101.39. Brent crude settled up 98 cents at $110.79 a
barrel, after hitting an intraday high of $111.89.

FUNDAMENTALS

* The European Union rather than Iran will lose out under
new EU sanctions banning Iranian oil, President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad said on Thursday, as lawmakers said they might cut
supplies to EU countries ahead of a July 1 deadline.

* Greece and its private creditors made progress on Thursday
in talks on restructuring its debt, both sides said, and they
will continue negotiating on Friday with the aim of sealing an
agreement within a few days.

* A contribution from the European Central Bank to a Greek
debt restructuring need not entail losses for the ECB, since it
bought the Greek bonds it holds at a deep discount, Jean-Claude
Juncker, the chairman of euro zone finance ministers, said.

* New orders for U.S. manufactured goods rose in December
and a gauge of future business investment rebounded, showing the
economy ended the year with more momentum than previously
thought.

* New investments in commodities almost ground to a halt
last year, Barclays Capital said on Thursday, with inflows into
the sector dropping almost 78 percent from 2010 to the lowest in
nine years.

* The Arab League chief and the Qatari prime minister will
present an Arab peace plan for Syria to ambassadors in the U.N.
Security Council in New York early next week, the council
president said on Thursday.

MARKETS NEWS

* The euro held on to most recent hefty gains against the
dollar on Friday, after hitting a five-week high, as the Fed’s
pledge to keep rates near zero for the next three years
encouraged carry trades funded in dollars.

* A month-long rally on Wall Street appears to be sputtering
as stocks slipped on Thursday in what investors called a
possible warning of weakness ahead.

* Commodities extended gains for a second day on Thursday as
plans to keep U.S. interest rates near zero bolstered investor
demand but markets came off the day’s highs as the dollar pared
losses in the afternoon.

DATA/EVENTS

* The following data is expected on Friday:

- 0900 EZ Money-M3 3m moving av Dec

- 1330 U.S. GDP Q4

- 2030 U.S. CFTC commitment of traders data

(Reporting by Manash Goswami; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)