* Oil steadies after four days of losses
* Awaits EIA data; to show higher crude, lower gasoline
stocks
* U.S. Fed Reserve meeting ends on Wed
(Updates prices, adds latest view on Fed Meeting outcome)
By Maryelle Demongeot
SINGAPORE, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Oil steadied below $70 on
Wednesday after four consecutive days of losses as the market
waited for a second set of U.S. inventory data and kept an eye
on the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day meeting.
Weekly stocks data from the American Petroleum Institute
(API) showed an unexpected fall of 1.4 million barrels in crude
stocks, together with a larger-than-expected 2.3 million
barrels fall in gasoline stocks. []
But the data, released after Tuesday's prices settlement,
failed to lift the market, which tracked losses on equity
markets after doubts over the strength of the U.S. economic
recovery resurfaced.
U.S. light crude for September delivery <CLc1> fell 11
cents to $69.34 a barrel by 0602 GMT, having lost $1.15 on
Tuesday on Wall Street losses and after the Energy Information
Administration (EIA) revised down its global oil demand
forecast.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> fell 32 cents to $72.14.
"Today traders will be watching the Fed meeting and the EIA
data. The stronger dollar and waning sentiment for equities
have been short-term bearish for crude, which has been trading
as an asset class recently," said Jonathan Kornafel, Asia
director of U.S.-based Hudson Capital Energy.
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) will release
its own weekly inventory data at 1430 GMT.
Data from the EIA and API can diverge widely.
An expanded Reuters poll of analysts on Tuesday showed
expectations of a 700,000-barrel rise in crude stocks, a
1.3-million-barrel increase in gasoline stocks and a
200,000-barrel drop in distillates stocks.
Traders will also keep a close eye on the two-day U.S.
Federal Reserve meeting that ends later on Wednesday with a
statement expected at about 1815 GMT.
Policymakers will steer a careful course in acknowledging
signs a turnaround may be near without triggering expectations
that interest rate rises are imminent.
The Fed is instead expected to acknowledge encouraging
signs -- including moderating job losses in July -- while
reemphasizing that it expects any future growth to be sluggish
and accompanied by persistently high unemployment.
[]
Optimism after the U.S. unemployment rate eased in July to
9.4 percent from 9.5 percent in June turned sour on Tuesday
when the U.S. Commerce Department reported that wholesale
inventories plummeted 1.7 percent in June, and investors
worried that businesses were running as lean as possible
because of doubts about an economic recovery. []
The decline, nearly double analyst expectations and the
10th straight monthly drop, pushed inventories to their lowest
level in more than two years and weighed on U.S. equity
markets. [] Adding to the gloom, the U.S. Energy
Information Administration cut its 2009 oil demand forecast,
predicting consumption would fall by 1.71 million barrels per
day this year, compared with previous estimates of a
1.56-million bpd drop. []
On its part, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries anticipated that the slow recovery in global
consumption and rival oil supplies would shrink demand for its
crude next year. []
The Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) will
release its closely watched oil monthly report at 0800 GMT.
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
