* Traders focus on China's export strength, demand growth
* China refined record amount of crude in May
* Coming Up: U.S. Retail sales for May; 1230 GMT
* For a technical view, click: [
] (Updates prices)By Alejandro Barbajosa
SINGAPORE, June 11 (Reuters) - Oil held above $75 on Friday, heading for a weekly gain of about 5 percent, as investor confidence in China's growth buffered data showing weaker-than-expected industrial output for the country in May.
China, the world's no. 2 oil user, is driving crude demand growth as consumption from European economies has been slow to recover. The nation's overall exports surged 48.5 percent last month, official data showed on Thursday. [
]But statistics released on Friday showed China's industrial output rose 16.5 percent in May, compared with expectations for a 17.1 percent increase. [
]U.S. crude for July <CLc1> declined 4 cents to $75.44 a barrel at 0704 GMT, after settling at the highest level in four weeks on Thursday. ICE Brent <LCOc1> rose 14 cents to $75.43.
"I wouldn't turn around and start selling," said Clarence Chu, an energy trader at Hudson Capital Energy in Singapore. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
For a graphic showing the oil technical outlook, see: http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/WT_20101106091036.jpg ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
Friday's data showed China's inflation accelerated in May from a year ago to a 19-month high of 3.1 percent, while fixed-asset investment growth moderated, sending mixed signals about the temperature of the world's third-largest economy. [
]"It's slightly disappointing, but I expect support around $75. It had been a resistance level and yesterday we finally broke through," said Chu.
This week's gain for U.S. crude would be just the second one in six, and prices remain more than 13 percent below a 19-month high above $87 reached in early May.
Oil rose above $75 on Thursday for the first time since June 4 on strong Chinese export data and after the International Energy Agency raised its global oil demand forecast for 2010, citing increases in fuel use by the world's top two oil users, the United States and China. [
]OPTIMISM BOOSTS
Asian stocks rose for a fourth day on Friday on optimism that the world economic recovery was on track despite Europe's debt woes, following a rally in U.S. stocks of almost 3 percent a day earlier. [
]"The Chinese trade numbers really boosted sentiment among investors and revived confidence that there will be a global economy recovery despite the euro zone debt crisis," said Serene Lim, a Singapore-based oil analyst at ANZ, adding that Friday's slight decline in oil prices could be "profit taking."
China's refinery runs, or the amount of crude that the country processes, rose 14.8 percent from a year earlier to 8.43 million barrels per day (bpd) in May, a fresh record high and 0.7 percent above April's run rate of 8.37 million bpd, official data showed on Friday. [
]China's domestic crude oil output broke through 17 million tonnes and 4 million bpd for the first month ever, rising 2.1 percent from April to 4.04 million bpd.
Oil inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma, crude oil hub and pricing point for benchmark U.S. crude rose 111,186 barrels in the week to June 8 to a record 40 million barrels, energy industry data provider Genscape said on Thursday. [
]"The market is oversupplied, but not excessively so," United Arab Emirates Oil Minister Mohammed al-Hamli said on the sidelines of a conference in Beijing on Friday.
"There is enough crude in the market; there is certainly no shortage," said Hamli. [
]A price range for oil of $70-80 per barrel was acceptable and good for maintaining investments, the minister told Reuters, adding that prices were reacting to other factors such as euro zone financial troubles. That's also the range preferred by the rest of the member nations of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. (Editing by Himani Sarkar)