ICE Brent crude oil treads water around $78

LONDON, Nov 4 (Reuters) - ICE Brent crude futures stabilised
around $78 per barrel on Wednesday, well above key technical
support levels and comfortably inside its recent trading range
with no immediate sign of a sharp break out higher or lower.

Chart analysts put several levels of strong support for
December Brent at between $77.10 and $77.60 per barrel but saw
heavy overhead resistance above $80 after its failure to stay up
above that level last week.

BRENT PRICES

* December Brent was up 28 cents at $78.39 a barrel by 1148
GMT.

* The December/January Brent spread was 82 cents.

* December Brent traded at a discount of $1.64 per barrel to
December U.S. crude oil futures CLc1.

GAS OIL PRICES

* November gas oil LGOc1 was up $11.75 at $637.00 a tonne.

* The November/December gas oil spread was minus $8.25 a
tonne.

TECHNICALS

* Brent support seen at $77.17, resistance at $80.68 per
barrel.

* Gas oil support seen at $630, resistance at $646 a tonne.

OTHER MARKETS

* Gold hit record highs above $1,095 an ounce on Wednesday
as dollar weakness added to momentum lent to the market by
India's purchase of 200 tonnes of gold from the IMF to push
prices through key technical resistance levels. [GOL/]

* European shares bounced back on Wednesday after sharp
losses in the previous session, with banks gaining ground ahead
of the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate decision and with Renault
(RENA.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) leading automobile stocks higher. At 0920 GMT, the
FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 1
percent at 978.66 points after falling 1.2 percent to a
one-month closing low on Tuesday. [.EU]

* The euro trimmed gains against the dollar and the yen
while the spread between Irish and euro zone government bond
yields widened on Wednesday after ratings agency Fitch cut its
sovereign rating of Ireland. [USD/]

FUNDAMENTALS

* Iran's OPEC Governor Mohammad Ali Khatibi said on
Wednesday the group did not need to increase its oil production,
the students news agency ISNA reported. OPEC oil supply fell in
October, the first decline since April, as lower output from
Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Nigeria offset a further rise from
Angola, a Reuters survey showed earlier this week.

* Police clashed with supporters of Iran's opposition leader
Mirhossein Mousavi in Tehran on Wednesday when a rally marking
the 30th anniversary of the storming of the U.S. embassy turned
violent, witnesses said. Reformist website Mowjcamp said police
opened fire on protesters at Haft-e Tir square, but there was no
independent confirmation. [ID:nL4102701]

DATA/EVENTS

* 1200 GMT - U.S. mortgage data

* 1530 GMT - EIA oil inventory/supply-demand data

(Reporting by Christopher Johnson; editing by William Hardy)