* Chinese exports surge in May, source tells Reuters
* U.S. crude oil inventories drop 1.8 million barrels - EIA
* For a technical view, click: []
* Coming Up: euro zone rate decision 1145 GMT on Thursday
(Updates throughout)
By Christopher Johnson
LONDON, June 9 (Reuters) - Oil rose more than $2 to above
$74 on Wednesday after a report of buoyant Chinese exports eased
concerns over the pace of Chinese growth and U.S. data showed a
hefty drawdown in crude oil inventories.
Chinese exports grew about 50 percent from a year earlier in
May, sources told Reuters on Wednesday, a sign the economy of
the second-largest oil user was roaring ahead. []
The export figure in the Reuters report, which came ahead of
Thursday's official release, far exceeded expectations and
fuelled a rise in stock markets globally. []
Adding to the picture of rising oil demand, the U.S. Energy
Information Administration (EIA) said crude inventories fell 1.8
million barrels last week, confirming an earlier report by the
American Petroleum Institute (API) of a hefty crude draw.
[] []
U.S. crude for July delivery <CLc1> jumped to a high of
$74.89 per barrel, up $2.76, before slipping back to trade at
around $74.80 by 1500 GMT. July ICE Brent <LCOc1> was trading up
$2.18 at $74.48.
"The dollar is down, equities are up and financial market
sentiment seems to be improving today," said Carsten Fritsch,
analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt. "The Chinese figures are a
positive support, adding extra confidence."
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For a graphic on the correlation between oil and equities:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/NT_20100906115841.jpg
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EIA REPORT
The EIA report was supportive on a number of fronts,
reporting a rise of 1.6 percent in U.S. refinery utilisation to
89.1 percent and a decline of 500,000 barrels in crude oil
stocks at Cushing Oklahoma, the physical delivery point for U.S.
crude futures.
Overall, U.S. crude stocks fell 1.8 million barrels to 361.4
million barrels in the week to June 4, the EIA said, against a
forecast for a 900,000 barrel decline in a Reuters poll.
The EIA stock draw, however, was much smaller than the 4.5
million barrel drawdown reported by the API industry group after
the market closed on Tuesday.
"Some of the crude draw was already built into the market,"
said Gene McGillian of Tradition Energy in Stamford,
Connecticut. "The fundamental data is not strong enough to
detach the market from the broader financial indicators that
it's taking the lead from."
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries gave
its verdict on the oil market in its monthly report. OPEC, which
pumps more than one in every three barrels of oil, said world
oil demand would rise 940,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2010,
10,000 bpd below its previous forecast. []
BP said in its annual Statistical Review of World Energy,
released on Wednesday, that world oil demand fell 1.2 million
barrels per day in 2009, the second consecutive annual decline
and the largest drop in volume since 1982. []
But demand in Asia is still robust and many analysts expect
consumption in countries such as China and India to bolster
global energy markets in future.
Chinese trade data for May, including oil statistics, will
be published on Thursday, followed by industrial production for
the same month on Friday, with growth forecast at 17.1 percent
in a Reuters survey, down from a 17.8 percent gain in April.
(Additional reporting by Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore;
editing by Sue Thomas)
