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Brent climbs to 1-mth high on China manufacturing

Published 08/31/2011, 11:21 PM
Updated 08/31/2011, 11:24 PM
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* Brent touches $115.27, highest since Aug. 3

* China's PMI rebounds in August from 28-month trough

* U.S. President Obama to lay out jobs plan on Sept. 8

* Traders eye potential development of Atlantic hurricanes

By Alejandro Barbajosa

SINGAPORE, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Brent crude rose to a one-month high above $115 on Thursday after China's manufacturing rebounded in August, stoking expectations for growth in the world's largest energy consumer to offset slowing industrialised economies.

Front-month Brent touched $115.27 a barrel, the highest intraday price since Aug. 3, and was up 25 cents from Wednesday at $115.10 by 0230 GMT. U.S. crude benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) climbed 29 cents to $89.10.

China's official purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 50.9 in August from a 28-month low of 50.7 in July, official data showed, while upbeat sentiment across financial markets lifted Asian stocks on hopes the U.S. Federal Reserve would intervene to support the economy.

"From a Chinese perspective, the PMI data is encouraging in that it is going in the right direction," said Nick Trevethan, a senior commodities strategist at ANZ in Singapore.

"Markets are still hoping for some kind of easing policy in the United States and there are some worries about a couple of storm systems developing."

Hurricane Katia became the second storm of such intensity over the Atlantic this year, while another mass of thunderstorms that could become a named storm this week triggered evacuations of some oil workers from the Gulf of Mexico.

BP began to evacuate more than 500 non-essential workers from four platforms in the region, home to large volumes of U.S. crude and natural gas production.

Brent crude is on track for eight straight sessions of gains following a sharp drop of 2.8 million barrels in U.S. gasoline stockpiles last week and as North Sea production issues keep European crude supplies tight.

Prices rose on Wednesday after a report showed the U.S. private sector added 91,000 jobs in August, while an index of factory activity in the U.S. Midwest in August and U.S. July factory orders were better than expected.

Still, the data continued to portray an economy struggling to mount a sustained recovery. As such, it further raised expectations that the Fed would adopt new measures to shore up the economy, supporting gains on Wall Street.

Underscoring fears about a global slowdown, Brazil surprised markets by cutting its benchmark interest rate to 12 percent from 12.5 percent, and expressed particular concern abut the pace of growth in mature economies. (Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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