Oil near $100 on Egypt fears (Reuters) (31-01-2011)

HONG KONG – Oil futures rose near $100 a barrel while Asian stocks fell on Monday on fears for the protests in Egypt may foment unrest throughout the Middle East and choke oil supplies.

U.S. crude for March delivery was trading at around $90 a barrel after hitting a high of $90.87 a barrel early in the session. Focus would likely be on Brent futures though, where the lead month contract was trading just shy of $100 a barrel.

Stocks in Indonesia and the Philippines were the hardest hit, with benchmark indexes falling 2.1 and 2.6 percent, respectively. These markets were among last year's biggest gainers in Asia and the latest bout of risk reduction has made investors more willing to take profits.

U.S. S&P 500 futures were up 0.2 percent after Wall Street closed down 1.8 percent on Friday, while U.S. Treasury futures were flat on the day, suggesting that investors would take a wait-and-watch approach to the Middle East.

Nikkei share average finished 1.2 percent lower, and at one point hit it’s lowest since early December.

Source: Reuters