* J.P. Morgan raises 2011 oil price forecasts * Yemen turmoil, Libya conflict keep oil prices supported * Coming up: CFTC positions data, 3:30 p.m. EDT Friday NEW YORK, March 25 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures edged lower Friday in choppy trading as investors eyed the threat to demand from euro zone debt problems and Japan's nuclear and radiation woes while monitoring the threat to supplies posed by Middle East unrest and Libya's conflict. Brent crude LCOc1 also slipped slightly. On Thursday, the situation in Libya and the Middle East also kept supply concerns in focus, but weak U.S. durable goods data pulled crude prices off an early peak. FUNDAMENTALS * On the New York Mercantile Exchange, May crude CLK1 slipped 24 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $105.60 a barrel by 9:13 a.m. EDT (1313 GMT), trading from $105.17 to $105.88. * Radiation fears escalated in Japan after workers suffered burns as they tried to cool a nuclear plant, while the government sowed confusion over whether it was widening an evacuation zone around the facility. [ID:nL3E7EP1WE] * Embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh said he was ready to cede power to prevent more bloodshed in Yemen but only to what he called "safe hands" as a massive "Day of Departure" street protest against him began. Western countries are worried that al Qaeda militants entrenched in the Arabian Peninsula country could exploit any chaos. [ID:nLDE72O0DT] * Western warplanes hit Libyan forces at a strategically important eastern town, trying to land a crippling blow on Muammar Gaddafi's tanks in a nearly week-old campaign that NATO says could last three months. [ID:nLDE72O004] * J.P. Morgan raised oil price forecasts for 2011. The bank raised its Brent forecast for the second quarter to $118 a barrel from $105, which combined with smaller increases for the third and fourth quarters, increases the 2011 projection by $6 to $110 a barrel. It expects WTI to average $99 in 2011, also up $6 from previous forecast. [ID:nL3E7EP0LJ] * European leaders gave themselves until June to finalize an increase in their temporary bailout facility, failing to deliver the broad package they had promised to resolve their debt crisis. [ID:nLDE72O009] * Protesters in the Deraa, Syria, shouted slogans on denouncing Republican Guard chief Maher al-Assad, brother of the Syrian president, a Reuters witness said. [ID:nLDE72O17Y] * The U.S. economy grew more quickly than previously estimated in the fourth quarter. Gross domestic product growth was revised up to an annualized rate of 3.1 percent, the Commerce Department said in its final estimate. [ID:nN25243056] MARKETS NEWS * The euro shrugged off concerns about Portugal's debt crisis, supported by steady buying by Asian central banks, while the Australian dollar hovered near a 29-year peak versus the U.S. dollar. [USD/] But the dollar index .DXY, measuring the greenback against a basket of currencies, strengthened. * Global stocks held firm on buoyant economic and company outlooks. [MKTS/GLOB] [.N] * Gold edged higher on worries over euro zone sovereign debt and violence in the Middle East and North Africa. [GOL/] * Copper steadied on concerns over European sovereign debt and Japan's worsening nuclear crisis, but expectations of a supply deficit this year lent support. [MET/L] UPCOMING DATA/EVENTS * U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission positions data released at 3:30 p.m. EDT (1930 GMT) on Friday. 9:13 LAST NET PCT LOW HIGH CURRENT DAY AGO CHNG CHNG VOL VOL CLc1 105.36 -0.24 -0.2% 105.17 105.88 35,759 254,571 CLc2 105.91 -0.20 -0.2% 105.70 106.37 9,833 99,302 LCOc1 115.69 -0.04 0.0% 115.33 116.13 33,533 165,366 RBc1 3.0536 0.0088 0.3% 3.0418 3.0617 1,661 23,544 RBc2 3.0586 0.0078 0.3% 3.0458 3.0685 4,825 34,606 HOc1 3.0630 0.0010 0.0% 3.0525 3.0743 2,206 27,560 HOc2 3.0781 -0.0006 0.0% 3.0676 3.0970 5,711 39,648 * NYMEX crude oil for May CLc1 fell 24 cents to $105.36 a barrel by 9:13 a.m. in volume of 35,759 lots. (Reporting by Robert Gibbons; Editing by John Picinich)

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