* WTI up 5th day; on track for 1st weekly gain since
mid-Aug
* China crude imports surge, IEA ups global demand f'casts
* Sentiment underpinned by U.S. crude inventory falls
(Updates prices, adds details and background)
By Nick Trevethan
SINGAPORE, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Crude oil edged higher on
Friday to just above $72 a barrel, on course for its first
weekly rise since mid-August, supported by a softer dollar and
gains in equities.
Equities markets rose around half a percent in Asia
<.MIAPJ0000PUS>, off early highs, which stripped some support
from energy. In the past two months equities and oil have shown
a very tight correlation.
For a graphic showing equity and oil price correlation:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/099/CMD_BRNT20909.gif
A slide in the dollar to a one-year low against a basket of
currencies after Chinese data came in stronger than expected
lent strength.
The weakening greenback -- down 2 percent this week -- has
driven buying in dollar denominated assets like oil, but David
Moore, a commodities economist at Commonwealth Bank of
Australia said although further dollar weakness was likely, it
would have a less pronounced influence on prices.
"Our forecast for currencies is for dollar depreciation --
a lot of that has occurred already and while depreciation has
been an upside driver, that influence may be weakening," Moore
said.
NYMEX crude for October delivery <CLc1> stood at $72.05 a
barrel by 0329 GMT, up 11 cents from Thursday's settlement. Oil
earlier touched $72.38 and prices are on track for the biggest
weekly rise since the middle of August.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> rose 28 cents to $70.14 a
barrel.
TOP OF THE RANGE
China's crude oil imports in August surged about 25 percent
on the year to 19.6 million tonnes, near a record high, or
around 4.6 million barrels per day, Reuters calculations based
on official customs data showed.
Imports for the first eight months rose 7.4 percent on year
to 130 million tonnes. []
The International Energy Agency raised its demand outlook
and the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported crude
inventories fell 5.9 million barrels last week, four times
greater than forecast in a Reuters poll. [] []
"A lot of the information that came out on Thursday was
pretty bullish for oil but the price reaction was muted," CBA;s
Moore said.
"That is probably because we are back towards the higher
end of the trading range and it's making making people a bit
cautious," he said.
More gains in crude could be on the cards, with a possible
challenge of the late August high of $75 a barrel, said Peter
McGuire, managing director of Commodity Warrants Australia,
saying this is a level OPEC would be happy with.
"OPEC wants to see oil between $70 and $85, and what OPEC
wants, OPEC gets. If you want to play ball they are the only
game in town and remember they own the pitch, the bat, the
ball, the umpire and even the hotdog concession,"
OPEC left output unchanged after a meeting that ended late
Wednesday, but signalled it would push for greater compliance
with the 4.2 million barrels per day that the group had agreed
at a series of meetings previously. []
(Editing by Michael Urquhart)
