By Gene Ramos NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices jumped nearly 3 percent on Thursday, gaining for a second straight day as Europe moved closer to pumping aid to the region's troubled banks and U.S. jobless benefit claims rose less than expected last week. Trading was volatile, with prices briefly dipping early after the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged and the bank's chief warned of more regional economic risks. The EU's executive arm said it would present a plan for member states to coordinate a recapitalization of their banks, as regulators met in London to reassess the capital buffers of stressed lenders that received a clean bill of health in July. The news helped ease concern about the euro zone crisis, which has weighed heavily on oil and equity markets over the past two months. Global equities and major commodities such as copper, which posted its biggest one-day gain since early 2010, also gained. Markets also got a lift from data showing new claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose less than expected last week, feeding hopes for an improved labor market on the eve of the September nonfarm payrolls report on Friday. "Oil traders are looking at the macro-market situation, reacting to the ECB moves and also the better-than-expected jobless claims data," said Richard Ilczyszyn, senior market strategist at MF Global in Chicago. In London, Brent crude futures for November delivery settled at $105.43 a barrel, gaining $3.00, after rising to the session high of $105.88. U.S. crude settled at $82.59, gaining $2.91, after hitting a session high of $82.90. Brent's premium against U.S. crude rose slightly to $23.14, after closing at $23.05 on Wednesday. U.S. gasoline futures paced the energy complex in New York, with intraday prices gaining more than 4 percent on East Coast supply shortfall due to refinery outages. Trading volume on Brent crude was around 557,000 contracts, 1.2 percent below its 30-day average. U.S. crude, volume was around 692,000 contracts, rising 8.3 percent from its 30-day average. Despite the day's sharp gains analysts saw more downside risk for crude futures, given economic weakness in the United States and the debt crisis in the euro zone. Also, with some of the oil production curbed by the war in Libya and interruptions in the North Sea and Nigeria was now finding its way back into the market, the supply fundamentals for oil are "pretty strong right now," Exxon Mobil Corp Chief Executive Rex Tillerson said at the Washington Ideas Forum. (Additional reporting by Robert Gibbons in New York, Claire Milhench and Christopher Johnson in London; and Seng Li Peng)
