* Asian shares rise, robust Aussie jobs data spurs
currencies
* Dollar slips after Alcoa beats expectations
* U.S. gasoline stocks rose at three times expected pace
(Updates prices, adds Asian shares performance)
By Fayen Wong
PERTH, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Oil rose one percent to more than
$70 a barrel on Thursday, clawing back some of the previous
session's losses amid exuberance that a global economic
recovery is getting underway, while a weak U.S. dollar also
lent support.
Oil settled down nearly 2 percent on Wednesday after U.S.
government data showed larger-than-expected supply increases in
gasoline and distillate fuels last week.
U.S. crude for November delivery <CLc1> rose 74 cents to
$70.31 a barrel by 0712 GMT. The contract closed $1.31 lower at
$69.57 a barrel on Wednesday.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> gained 81 cents to $68.01.
"Oil is helped by a weaker U.S. dollar, while having a
string of positive newsflow from different areas has also
buoyed investors' sentiments," said Benson Wang, a commodities
trader at Commodity Broking Services in Sydney.
Alcoa's <AA.N> surprise third-quarter profit, along with
Australia's better-than-expected unemployment numbers, has
rekindled enthusiasm the global recovery is gathering strength,
Wang said.
"Alcoa's results seems to have increased optimism that we
might see some strong numbers coming out of the third-quarter
results season."
Alcoa Inc posted a surprise profit on Wednesday, thanks to
cost cutting and higher aluminium prices after three
consecutive quarterly losses, sending its stock 6 percent
higher. []
In Australia, employment surged past all expectations in
September and the jobless rate dropped in what might be a
turning point months earlier than anyone had thought, pushing
Asian shares higher and piling pressure on the greenback.
[][]
Still, some analysts doubt whether oil will rise beyond the
$75-mark, as the market remains well supplied and the global
economic recovery, along with energy demand, remains fragile.
"The road to recovery is unlikely to be as smooth as some
expect and will come with a few bumps along the way. The hard
data (factory orders, capital goods orders) have disappointed
relative to the direction suggested by the new orders'
components in the ISM manufacturing surveys," Harry
Tchilinguirian, an oil analyst at BNP Paribas said in a report.
The Energy Information Administration reported gasoline
stocks leapt 2.9 million barrels last week, nearly three times
the build that analysts had expected.
Distillate stocks -- which include diesel and heating oil
-- rose by 700,000 barrels, more than double the forecast
300,000-barrel build. []
Investors will keep their eyes peeled for a host of
economic data due later in the United States on Thursday, among
them weekly jobless claims, wholesale inventories for August
and chain store sales for September.
(Reporting by Fayen Wong; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
