08.07.201306:00:01UTC+00Oil almost touches $104 on Egypt uncertainty, U.S. data

Benchmark U.S. crude-oil futures moved higher Monday, moving closer to $104 a barrel as unrest in Egypt left traders watching for any news of supply disruptions out of the Middle East.

Crude for August delivery bolster 49 cents, or 0.5%, to $103.70 a barrel in electronic trade, extending last week’s advances after Egypt’s new leaders late Saturday said they hadn’t named opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei as Egypt’s interim prime minister, underscoring political instability in the country.

Egypt controls the key Suez Canal and an adjacent pipeline which is used to transport a significant amount of the region’s oil trade.

ElBaradei is a leader of secular groups that opposed Mohammed Morsi, who was ousted last week as Egypt’s president in the wake of massive protests. Oil prices last week climbed to more than $100 a barrel after Morsi rejected calls to resign.

Clashes between Morsi supporters and critics have left more than 30 people dead, according to various reports.

Oil values skyrocketed 6.9% last week, the biggest weekly percentage gain since late February 2011, according to FactSet data.

Oil prices on Friday appreciated 2%, finding support after a larger-than-expected 195,000 new jobs were added to the U.S. economy in June, increasing prospects for energy demand.

Flows to energy-sector funds ending July 3 exceeded $2 billion for the first time since the first quarter of 2011, against “a backdrop of fresh turmoil in Egypt, still improving U.S. economic data and declining oil production in Mexico, Venezuela and Nigeria,” fund tracker EPFR said Friday.

Oil prices Monday rose despite a gain for the U.S. dollar against the euro and other currencies, keeping the ICE dollar index at a three-year high. A stronger greenback can hurt dollar-denominated oil prices by making oil futures more expensive for holders of other currencies.

August futures for benchmark Brent oil picked up 11 cents, or 0.1%, at $107.83 a barrel on Monday. They finished Friday’s session up 2.1% on ICE Futures. Last week, prices rose 5.2%.

In other trading Monday, August gasoline maintained its position at $2.90 a gallon, and August heating oil held on to the $2.99-a-gallon level.

August natural gas spiked 3 cents, or 0.8%, to $3.62 per million British thermal units.