Brent bounces above $100,premium to US at record

LONDON: Oil edged up on Wednesday, with North Sea Brent topping $100 again, due to market jitters over possible supply constraints stemming from unrest in Egypt and after data a day earlier showed a drop in U.S. stockpiles.

The upside, however, could be limited by China's rate hike on Tuesday and ahead of the release of U.S. government weekly oil data later on Wednesday, which may reveal record high crude stockpiles at the delivery point for U.S. crude, analysts said.

North Sea Brent crude futures traded 71 cents higher at $100.63 compared with Tuesday's close of $99.92. U.S. crude rose 34 cents to $87.26 by 1046 GMT.

Brent crude traded at a record high premium of $13.39 a barrel to U.S. crude by the same time. "Brent is still reflecting the market concern about Egypt and the Suez Canal. Oil supply to Europe via the canal would have more impact than (any supplies to) the U.S.," Tony Nunan, assistant general manager with Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo, said.

The massive protest in Egypt insisting President Hosni Mubarak step down immediately continued on Wednesday. The market was nervous about its impact on the operation of the Suez Canal.