NYMEX-Crude steady after China PMI, in longest weekly winning run since 2004

SEOUL, Feb 1 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures steadied on Friday, giving up early gains, after China's official factory activity gauge missed market expectations.

West Texas Intermediate crude is still on track to rise for an eighth week in a row, matching a similar winning streak in July-August 2004, after hitting four-month highs on upbeat global economic data earlier this week.

FUNDAMENTALS

* U.S. crude for March delivery was little changed at $97.48 a barrel by 0123 GMT, after rising to as high as $97.70 earlier. The contract jumped 6.2 percent in January, its third consecutive monthly rise.

* Brent crude gained 13 cents to $115.68 a barrel, after rising by 4 percent last month.

* China's official purchasing managers' index eased to 50.4 in January, the National Bureau of Statistics said, missing market expectations and underscoring that the economy is making only a mild recovery from its weakest year since 1999.

* Brent's premium to U.S crude oil <CL-LCO1R> widened to more than $18 a barrel on Thursday after the Seaway pipeline operator said it would be the third or fourth quarter before it completes a lateral pipeline from its Jones Creek terminal in Texas. The Brent-WTI crude oil spread is at its widest since Jan. 10.

* Seaway operator Enterprise Products Partners LP was forced last week to reduce throughput on the southern leg of Seaway due to a bottleneck at Jones Creek, the terminus of the line. Seaway's capacity expansion to 400,000 barrels per day was completed on Jan. 11, but the restrictions around Jones Creek have restricted flows.

* U.S. personal income rose 2.6 percent last month, the biggest increase in eight years as companies rushed to make dividend payments before higher tax rates set in, while buoyant wage growth also gave a lift to households.

* Investors are eyeing the release of U.S. nonfarm payrolls data later on Friday and economists expect jobs to have risen by 160,000 in January from 155,000 in December.

* Syria protested to the United Nations over an Israeli air strike on its territory and warned of a possible "surprise" response.

* Iran has announced plans to install and operate advanced uranium enrichment machines, in what would be a technological leap allowing it to significantly speed up activity the West fears could be put to developing a nuclear weapon.

MARKETS NEWS

* U.S. stocks edged lower on Thursday on caution ahead of Friday's jobs report, but the S&P 500 still posted its best monthly gain since October 2011.

* The yen plumbed fresh multi-year lows against its G3 peers on Friday, having posted its biggest monthly decline in 12 years versus the euro as the market positioned for more aggressive easing from the Bank of Japan.

DATA/EVENTS

* The following data is expected on Friday (GMT):

0145 China HSBC Manufacturing PMI Final

0500 India HSBC Markit Manufacturing PMI

0843 Italy Markit/ADACI Manufacturing PMI

0848 France Markit Manufacturing PMI

0853 Germany Markit/BME Manufacturing PMI

0858 Euro zone Markit Manufacturing PMI

1000 Euro zone Inflation

1000 Euro zone Unemployment rate

1330 U.S. Non-farm payrolls

1330 U.S. Unemployment rate

1500 U.S. ISM Manufacturing PMI

1500 U.S. Construction spending

(Reporting by Meeyoung Cho; Editing by Manolo Serapio Jr. and Ed Davies)