DJI- NEW YORK, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Brent oil rose above $125 a barrel to end near a 1o-month high on Friday as the United Nations' nuclear watchdog said Iran has sharply stepped up work on uranium enrichment, while the S&P 500 closed at the highest level since June 2008.
The sharp run higher in oil prices has increased worries that slower consumer demand will stymie global economic growth, particularly as the euro zone remains mired in a debt crisis and appears headed for recession.
A day after hitting a record high in euro terms, Brent crude jumped $1.85 to settle at $125.47, its fifth day of gains.
The news on Iran, in a report from the United Nation's International Atomic Energy Agency, was seen as certain to intensify concerns about Iran's atomic aims. For the week, Brent crude is up 4.9 percent, its biggest weekly percentage gain since the week to Jan. 6.
Brent's recent gains have been fueled mainly by worries over Iranian supply. European buyers of Iranian oil have cut back on purchases ahead of a European Union embargo effective July 1. Some of Iran's biggest customers in Asia including China have also reduced their buying.
"The recent resurgence in the price of crude oil has led to speculation that, in a repeat of what happened at this time last year, a spike in energy prices could undermine real economic growth just when the recovery appears to be gathering momentum again," said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics in Toronto.
Despite oil's rise, the U.S. benchmark S&P 500 inched up to close at the highest since before the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, continuing a pattern of steady gains on signs of U.S. economic recovery. World stocks gained as well.
The broad index is up more than 8 percent this year, a rally built on a succession of incremental gains and only a handful of losses, not one of them worse than a 0.7 percent drop.
Many analysts still expect a more significant pullback but a string of upbeat economic reports in recent weeks, including Friday's better-than-expected data on consumer confidence, has offset worries about an impending correction.
The Dow Jones industrial average dipped 1.74 points, or 0.01 percent, to end at 12,982.95. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 2.28 points, or 0.17 percent, to 1,365.74. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 6.77 points, or 0.23 percent, to 2,963.75.
NYMEX- NEW YORK, Feb. 24 - U.S. crude futures rose a seventh day on Friday, closing at a nine-month high and having the best week since December as the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Iran had stepped up uranium enrichment work was seen inflaming Tehran's
tensions with the West.
The seven-day rally was the longest streak of gains for U.S. crude since prices rose 10 straight days in late December 2009 to early January 2010. Prices gained more than 6 percent for the week, the best weekly performance since the week to Dec. 23.
Apart from worries of Iran supply disruptions, economic data showing that U.S. consumer confidence hit its highest point in a year this month and signs of budding recovery in the housing market added support to crude futures.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude for April delivery settled at $109.77 a barrel, gaining $1.94, or 1.8 percent, the highest settlement since May 3, when prices ended at $111.05.
CBOT SOYBEANS- Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade settled firm on export demand from China and a foreast for U.S. soybean inventories to tighten in marketing year 2012/13, traders said.
A weaker U.S. dollar and spillover strength from U.S. crude oil futures added support.
Soybeans unofficially ended up 1 percent for the week, the second straight weekly rise and the fifth in six weeks.
USDA at its annual outlook forum projected that U.S. 2012/13 soybean ending stocks would drop to 205 million bushels, from 275 million in 2011/12.
Traders noted unconfirmed talk that China may have purchased five to 10 cargoes of U.S. soybeans this week.
USDA showed export sales of U.S. soybeans in the latest reporting week at 4,032,400 tonnes, above a range of trade estimates for 3,500,000 to 3,900,000 tonnes. USDA said China bought 521,100 tonnes for 2011/12 and 2,805,000 for 2012/13, while another 68,000 tonnes was sold to "unknown" for 2012/13.
USDA reported weekly soymeal export sales at 216,000 tonnes and soyoil sales at 25,200 tonnes, both above trade expectations.
FCPO- SINGAPORE, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Malaysian crude palm oil futures closed higher on Friday, although gains were capped as investors were wary that rising oil prices could hurt global economic growth and commodity demand.
Emerging concerns that No.2 edible oil consumer China's demand for the tropical oil could ease on high stock levels may further depress prices that rose more than 6 percent this month alone.
"China's demand for palm oil will slow down as its economy is slowing and the government is trying to maintain slow growth," said a Singapore-based physical trader with a local trading company.
Benchmark May palm oil futures on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange inched up 0.1 percent to close at 3,276 ringgit ($1,088) per tonne. Prices hit a high of 3,294 ringgit on Wednesday, the highest since June 9 last year. Traded volumes were thin at 19,442 lots of 25 tonnes each, compared to the usual 25,000 lots.
REGIONAL MARKET- Feb 24 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets were mixed on Friday, with Thailand hitting a near 16-year high while concerns over rising oil prices and economic slowdown in the euro zone hurt some indexes.
Despite volatility, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia this week enjoyed foreign inflows of $340.4 million, $133.2 million and $114 million respectively.
Improvement in the U.S. jobless data, which was at a four-year low last week, lifted market sentiment in the region slightly with Thailand gaining 0.5 percent to hit its
highest close since July 23, 1996 and Singapore adding 0.3 percent, both in moderate trading volume.
Malaysia edged up 0.1 percent with a foreign inflow of 123.48 million ringgit ($40.96 million).
Commodities led by energy shares pushed Bangkok with top oil firm PTT PCL and PTT Exploration and Production PCL gaining 0.8 percent and 2.5 percent respectively.
In Singapore, United Overseas Bank Ltd weighed on the broader market with a 1.6 percent fall after reporting poorer-than-expected earnings.
