LONDON (Reuters) – High oil prices will help push 2012 global energy exploration and production (E&P) spending to a record high of $598 billion, but the rate of growth will slow from a year ago in part due to wariness about continued economic uncertainty, Barclays Capital said on Monday.

The $598 million is up 10 percent from $544 billion this year, analysts at Barclays found after surveying 350 oil and gas companies.

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices rose on Monday with Brent crude futures up near $111, extending gains from last week as rising tensions between Iran and the West increased the risk of disruption to crude shipments by the world’s fifth-largest oil exporter.

Iran warned the West on Sunday that any move to block its oil exports would more than double crude prices with devastating consequences for a fragile global economy.

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil crude futures rose above $107 on Thursday, helped by bigger-than-expected stock draws in the United States and tensions around Iran, while stronger German data offset some of the negative sentiment generated by Wednesday’s poor bond auction.

Brent crude oil futures were up 68 cents to $107.70 a barrel by 1100 GMT. U.S. crude was up 40 cents at $96.57 a barrel. Trading volume is expected to be thin Thursday as the U.S. market is closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.

LONDON (Reuters) – Brent crude oil rose a dollar to over $109 a barrel on Friday, helped by a weaker dollar, after posting steep losses in the previous session, but analysts and traders said the risk remained to the downside given the economic weakness in Europe.

Brent crude was up $1.207 at $109.44 a barrel by 1015 GMT, after closing down $3.66 in the previous session. U.S. crude oil futures were up 72 cents to $99.54.

LONDON (Reuters) – The hottest oil spread of the year, Brent versus U.S. crude, is bracing for months of volatility as investors put polar bets on the outlook for the U.S. and European oil markets and use the trade as a proxy for short-term speculation on the regions’ economies.

The premium for ICE Brent futures over NYMEX U.S. crude, also known as WTI, narrowed to an eight-month low on Thursday. The spread reached a low of $7.89 per barrel, from a record of more than $28 in mid-October. It moved back to around $9.25 by 4:45 p.m.

LONDON (Reuters) – Investors stuck with gold exchange-traded products (ETPs) in October, but most other commodities ETPs saw outflows as investors remained cautious about the outlook for economic growth.

The gold trend has continued into November as the eurozone crisis has intensified, but oil ETPs have also begun to attract monies as investors eye developments in Iran.

LONDON, Nov 8 (Reuters) – Oil prices rose over $115 on
Tuesday on the back of strong seasonal fundamentals, as
investors weighed the prospect of supply disruption from Iran
against concerns over Italy’s sovereign debt risk.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up $1.13 a barrel to
$115.69 by 0851 GMT, after pushing up to $115.83 as London
traders arrived at their desks.

LONDON, Nov 3 (Reuters) – Oil prices slipped on Thursday to
around $109 a barrel as uncertainty over the Greek bail out
weighed on sentiment and the market digested bearish news of a
crude oil inventory build in the United States.

Brent crude for December LCOc1 was down 32 cents a barrel
at $109.02 by 0917 GMT, after slipping as low as $107.83 in
Asian trading. U.S. crude CLc1 fell 21 cents to $92.30 a
barrel.