* API crude and product stocks post rise
* Coming up: EIA U.S. inventory report; 1430 GMT
* For a technical view, click: []
(Changes dateline to LONDON, previous SINGAPORE, recasts)
By Emma Farge
LONDON, June 16 (Reuters) -Oil prices edged down to hover
below $77 a barrel on Wednesday after a surprise hike in crude
inventories in the world's top energy consumer the United States
dampened risk appetite for commodities.
U.S. crude inventories jumped 579,000 barrels in the week to
June 11 and oil product stocks rose across the board, weekly
data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) trade group
said on Tuesday. []
U.S. crude for July <CLc1> fell 27 cents to $76.67 a barrel
at 1026 GMT after trading above $77 a barrel earlier. ICE Brent
crude oil for delivery in August <LC0c1> was down 5 cents at
$77.05 a barrel by the same time.
"When you look at the last data on the API side, it showed
an increase in crude oil. We are also looking at a big jump in
gasoline stocks and that could be pretty bearish for oil," said
Christopher Barret, an oil analyst at Credit Agricole.
A U.S. government inventory report from the Energy
Information Administration, deemed by many to be more
comprehensive than the API, will be published later on Wednesday
and is set to provide further direction.
The report will give clues on demand at the start of the
summer driving season when gasoline consumption peaks.
A provisional poll of Reuters analysts showed that crude oil
inventories dropped 1.2 million barrels and gasoline inventories
rose 200,000 barrels last week. []
U.S. weekly retail gasoline demand rose 1.4 percent in the
week ended June 11 as prices at the pump continued to dip, but
demand was down 2.2 percent year-on-year, the SpendingPulse
report said on Tuesday. []
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
While prices were slightly weaker on Wednesday, they were
still nearly 20 percent above the 2010 low of $64.24 a barrel
struck in late May, helped by better buying appetite for
commodities such as oil.
On Tuesday, U.S. crude rose above the 200-day moving
average, and analysts expected prices to remain above this key
technical support level, currently at around $76.79 a barrel.
"After the (May) correction, prices should be
well-supported. There has been a change in risk aversion," said
Barret.
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http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/WT_20101606083828.jpg
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The market on Wednesday was also weighing the potential
implications of a speech from U.S. President Barack Obama in
which he demanded that BP <BP.L> set aside billions of dollars
to pay for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. []
While some expect the disaster to be bullish for oil prices
in the long term as producers shy away from deepwater drilling,
others think the accident could accelerate the shift away from
traditional energy sources such as oil.
"Maybe for the long-term oil price it's bullish, but for the
nearby months I don't see any reason to be bullish or bearish,"
said Keichi Sano, general manager of research at SCM Securities
in Tokyo.
(Additional reporting by Alejandro Barbajosa; editing by
Jane Baird)
