* U.S. oil prices rise 2.4 pct to above $36
* UAE first to follow OPEC deals with Jan, Feb cuts
* Worries of slowing energy demand weigh
TOKYO, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Oil climbed above $36 a barrel on
Friday, after the UAE joined Saudi Arabia in deepening oil
supply curbs to comply with OPEC's biggest-ever output cut last
week, telling refiners it would stiffen shipping limits on
exports of its main grades.
Crude for February delivery was trading up 82 cents at
$36.17 a barrel by 0203 GMT. It settling down 9.3 percent, or
$3.63, on Wednesday, not far off the more than 4-½ year low
struck a week ago. London Brent crude was up 75 cents at
$37.36, after settling down $3.75 on Wednesday.
Markets were closed on Thursday for Christmas Day.
Oil prices have dropped about $110 a barrel since their
mid-July peak as the global financial crisis chipped away at
fuel demand, spurring OPEC producers to cut 5 percent of global
oil production to stem the slide.
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC), the main producer in
the United Arab Emirates, the world's fifth-largest oil
exporter, will continue to supply its customers of flagship
Murban crude with 15 percent less than normal contractual
supplies in January, while Upper Zakum supplies will be reduced
by 3 percent from the norm.
ADNOC said it will reduce supplies of all four crude grades
for February, the deepest supply cuts since it started cutting
allocations in November.
A source with an Asian refiner said the ADNOC cuts were
more than expected.
"ADNOC had already allocated January volumes, but they
reversed the decision, so that messes up our schedule," the
source said. "For February, the reduction volumes are very
large, so we may need to adjust our ship loadings."
Analysts and refiners said the notice was hard evidence
that one of OPEC's core members was implementing its share of
the group's agreed 2.2 million barrel per day (bpd) production
cut, giving relief to an oil price that had been undermined by
worries about adherence to OPEC's cuts.
Oil tumbled on Wednesday on news that U.S. jobless claims
had risen to a 26-year high and consumers had cut spending for
the fifth consecutive month in November, reinforcing
expectations of a prolonged slowdown in energy consumption.
A U.S. Energy Information Administration report on
Wednesday showed crude inventories dropped 3.1 million barrels
last week, countering expectations of a 400,000 barrel rise,
but dealers said larger-than-expected builds in U.S. refined
fuel supplies last week kept the outlook bearish.
OPEC may call an emergency meeting before March if prices
extend their slide, President Chakib Khelil said on Tuesday.
Japan's deepening recession is expected to cut oil demand
in the world's third-biggest oil consumer by 4.7 percent in the
year starting in April, after sliding 5.7 percent in the fiscal
year ending next March, the Institute of Energy Economics
(IEE), Japan, said in its annual outlook this week.
In yet another sign that lacklustre demand was hurting, a
company source from China offshore oil specialist CNOOC Ltd
said the firm was likely to scale down or delay some projects
as slumping oil prices threatened to invalidate its previous
oil economics.
(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Ben Tan)
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