Brent rises above $116 on cold snap, tighter Iran sanctions

* Greece wrangling tempers recovery of risky assets

* Brent may rise to $118.65/bbl -technicals

* Coming Up: Germany Industrial output for Dec; 1100 GMT

SINGAPORE, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Brent futures rose above

$116 on Tuesday, extending gains after prices settled at a

six-month high in the previous session as a cold spell in Europe

and supply concerns from the Middle East overshadowed fears

Europe's debt crisis was worsening.

The European benchmark's premium to U.S. oil stayed

around $19 a barrel, near its highest since

November, due to the weather and as the United States further

tightened sanctions against Iran, stoking already simmering

tensions in the region. But, Greece's wrangling over a bailout

fund helped cap those gains.

Brent crude rose 14 cents to $116.07 a barrel by

0331 GMT, gaining for a sixth straight day. U.S. oil

increased 19 cents to $97.10, partly reversing the previous

session's losses.

"The geopolitical events surrounding Iran and the Middle

East and the severe cold weather sweeping across Europe is

providing support for Brent," said Victor Shum, senior partner

at oil consultancy Purvin & Gertz. "We continue to see more

upside risks for oil, but Europe's debt crisis will weigh."

The pull and push would keep Brent trading around $116,

while U.S. crude may inch up towards $100 as the difference

between the two benchmarks narrow, Shum said.

President Barack Obama tightened sanctions on Iran another

notch, the White House said on Monday, targeting its central

bank and giving U.S. banks new powers to freeze assets linked to

the government.

Obama's move, in an executive order he signed on Sunday, was

the latest action in an escalating campaign to target the

Central Bank of Iran, and was intended to close loopholes in

existing sanctions Tehran has exploited.

The ongoing unrest in Syria is also adding to concerns over

the stability of the Middle East. A member of the main

opposition Syrian National Council said President Bashar

al-Assad's forces killed 50 people in a sustained bombardment of

Homs, a centre of armed opposition to his rule, two days after

activists reported 200 people were killed in shelling.

A bullish target at $118.65 per barrel has been established

for Brent as it is riding on a powerful wave "C" or wave (3),

while U.S. oil still targets $98.61 per barrel, as a rebound

from the Feb. 2 low of $95.44 will continue, according to

Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.

GREECE

Greece's resistance to a set of strict conditions attached

to a bailout fund capped the recent strength in Asian shares on

Tuesday. Most other risky assets also paused as investors

watched if the restructuring talks would be resolved.

Failure to strike a deal to secure the rescue fund risks

pushing Athens into a chaotic debt default and threatens to

trigger contagion across the whole region.

"International risk markets were largely in a holding

pattern last night pending insight into whether Greece will meet

the conditions to avoid a disorderly default," Ric Spooner,

chief market analyst at CMC Markets, said in a report.

(Editing by Himani Sarkar)