* Fighting continues in Libya between government, rebels * Coming up: US Feb payrolls data, 8:30 a.m. EST Friday NEW YORK, March 4 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures rose Friday as fighting continued between Libyan rebels and the government, intensifying worries that unrest in North Africa and the Middle East will disrupt supply. Crude prices, for both NYMEX and ICE Brent, rose ahead of the U.S. government's report on February nonfarm payrolls in the United States expected to show the biggest jobs rise in any month since May last year. [ID:nN03204001] FUNDAMENTALS * On the New York Mercantile Exchange, April crude CLJ1 rose 95 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $102.86 a barrel at 8:05 a.m. EST (1305 GMT), trading from $101.54 to $103.30. * Libyan rebels vowing "victory or death" advanced towards a major oil terminal, calling for foreign air strikes to set up a "no-fly" zone after three days of attacks by Muammar Gaddafi's warplanes. [ID:nLDE72300M] * Gunshots rang out in a district of Tripoli where several hundred opponents of Libyan leader Gaddafi had been demanding an end to his rule, a Reuters reporter at the scene said. [ID:nLDE72318E] * Several hundred opponents of Gaddafi spilled out of a mosque in Tripoli after prayers chanting: "Gaddafi is the enemy of God!" [ID:nLDE7230PU] * Al Jazeera television reported that battles were under way between forces loyal to Gaddafi and rebels in the eastern oil port of Ras Lanuf. It also said there were battles between Gaddafi loyalists and rebels in Zawiyah, 50 km (31 miles) west of Tripoli. [ID:nLDE7230VY] * Several people were hurt in fighting between Sunni and majority Shi'ite Muslims in a town in central Bahrain, the first sectarian violence since protests erupted in the Sunni-ruled kingdom two weeks ago. [ID:nLDE7230U9] * Qatar has notified at least two Asian buyers that it will supply Marine crude at full contracted volumes for April, unchanged from March, trade sources said. [ID:nTOE72300F] MARKETS NEWS * U.S. stock index futures were mostly unchanged as upbeat labor market data earlier this week fed investor optimism about the upcoming February payrolls report. [.N] * Gold firmed in Europe, recovering some of the previous session's hefty losses as unrest in North Africa supported demand for the metal as a haven from risk, though moves were muted ahead of key U.S. payrolls data. [GOL/] * World stocks rose on expectations of upbeat U.S. employment data, but gains were limited by prospects for higher oil prices in the wake of turmoil in the Middle East. The euro rose. [MKTS/GLOB] [FRX/] UPCOMING DATA/EVENTS * U.S. Labor Department releases February employment report at 8:30 a.m. EST (1330 GMT). Economists in a Reuters survey forecast 185,000 jobs were created in the month versus 36,000 in January, and an unemployment rate of 9.1 percent versus 9 percent in the prior month. * U.S. Commerce Department releases January factory orders at 10:00 a.m. EST (1500 GMT). Economists surveyed by Reuters forecast a rise of 2 percent following December's increase of 0.2 percent. * Commodities Futures Trading Commission weekly positions data is set for release at 3:30 p.m. EST (2130 GMT) on Friday. 8:05 LAST NET PCT LOW HIGH CURRENT DAY AGO CHNG CHNG VOL VOL CLc1 102.86 0.95 0.9% 101.54 103.03 26,953 446,378 CLc2 103.98 0.89 0.9% 102.70 104.16 5,983 164,094 LCOc1 115.96 1.17 1.0% 114.79 116.20 42,778 213,736 RBc1 3.0435 0.0173 0.6% 3.0220 3.0500 1,406 47,497 RBc2 3.0462 0.0133 0.4% 3.0340 3.0559 945 24,132 HOc1 3.0733 0.0240 0.8% 3.0446 3.0811 1,861 53,656 HOc2 3.0794 0.0206 0.7% 3.0580 3.0898 708 20,505 * NYMEX crude oil for April CLc1 rose 95 cents to $102.86 a barrel by 8:05 a.m. in volume of 26,953 lots. (Reporting by Robert Gibbons; Editing by John Picinich)

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