NYMEX crude bounces to record amid supply snags

NEW YORK, April 18 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures rose Friday, bouncing to a record high above $116 a barrel as the market reacted to supply snags and buyers stepped in after crude futures fell $2 earlier.

"Bulls view any sell-off as opportunity." said one NYMEX trader.

Despite the earlier pullback, "the bulls still hold the cards," said Mike Fitzpatrick, vice president at MF Global.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange at 2:10 p.m. EDT (1810 GMT), May crude CLK8 was up $1.35 or 1.18 percent at $116.21 a barrel, trading from $112.72 to a record $116.31 which eclipsed Thursday's $115.54 peak.

In London, June Brent crude LCOM8 was up $1.05 or 1.18 percent at $113.61 a barrel, trading $110.62 to $113.75.

A British union will stage a two-day strike beginning April 27 at Ineos Grangemouth refinery, forcing it to shut down and affect the North Sea Forties crude oil pipeline system, which terminates there, both sides said on Friday. [ID:nL18600751]

Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Friday a small amount of its oil production in Nigeria had been shut in due to an apparent attack by rebels on a pipeline feeding into the Bonny terminal in the Niger Delta. [ID:nL18594995]

The rebels said they planned to step up attacks.

Iraqi troops cordoned off the Basra office of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Friday and prevented his followers from praying in a move that could inflame tensions between the government and militiamen. [ID:nL18916408]