* Oil rises off month-low
* Brent trades at widest premium to WTI since June
* Oil pares gains after API reports U.S. crude stock build
* Coming Up: EIA US inventory report; 10:30 a.m. Wednesday
(Adds API report, prices)
By Joshua Schneyer
NEW YORK, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Oil rose on Tuesday, snapping
a five-day decline, as expanding U.S. corporate earnings and
industrial production eased worries about the economy and a
weaker dollar made commodities cheaper for holders of other
currencies.
U.S. crude for September delivery <CLc1> rose 53 cents to
settle at $75.77 a barrel, after hitting a one-month low of
$74.86 during Monday trade.
After settlement, U.S. crude prices pared gains and were up
just 23 cents a barrel, following an American Petroleum
Institute report, which showed U.S. crude stocks unexpectedly
gained 5.9 million barrels last week. []
Europe's Brent crude futures, whose new contract is for
October delivery <LCOV0>, rose more sharply than U.S. futures,
gaining $1.30 a barrel to settle at $76.93.
Brent traded at its widest premium to West Texas
Intermediate since mid-June, as crude stocks near 20-year highs
in the United States tempered investor appetite for near-term
U.S. crude.
Stronger-than-expected earnings reports from bellwether
retailers Wal-Mart and Home Depot helped to push U.S. equities
higher, with the Standard & Poor's 500 index gaining 1.2
percent. []
"Crude futures have rebounded strongly today, following a
rally on Wall Street after a string of losses," said Mark
Waggoner, president of Excel Futures in Bend, Oregon.
Data also showed U.S. industrial production expanded in
July at twice the pace that economists had expected.
[]
The dollar weakened 0.4 percent against a basket of
currencies <.DXY>. This made oil, which is priced in the U.S.
currency, cheaper for foreign currency holders.
The euro firmed after Ireland and Spain attracted strong
demand in debt auctions, easing doubts about financial health
of euro zone countries. [] (Graphic:
http://link.reuters.com/wyq35n)
BRENT BOOM
October Brent traded on Tuesday at a premium of up to 88
cents a barrel to October U.S. crude, its steepest advantage
since mid-June. <CL-LCO1=R>
U.S. crude stocks are near 20-year highs, while combined
commercial crude and oil product stocks are at their highest
level since 1990, according to government data.
API data on Tuesday showed U.S. crude stocks rose 5.9
million barrels last week, while distillates and gasoline
stocks also rose. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a
draw in crude and gasoline, and a more modest build for
distillates. []
Adding to Brent's relative strength are crude inventories
at Cushing, Oklahoma, WTI's main delivery point, at near record
highs. They stood at 37.7 million barrels in the week through
Aug. 6, just shy of a record 37.9 million barrels in mid-May,
according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
A perceived glut at the NYMEX delivery point can depress
near-term WTI prices, which rose less sharply on Tuesday than
U.S. oil futures for later delivery.
API data showed Cushing stocks fell slightly last week, by
687,000 barrels.
U.S. gasoline demand normally peaks in the summer driving
season, draining inventories. But stocks this summer have
risen.
The EIA will publish its own weekly data on Wednesday.
Goldman Sachs, in a weekly commodities research report,
told clients it is likely that global oil demand has recently
been outstripping supply by 600,000 barrels a day on a
seasonally adjusted basis.
The U.S. bank pointed to a 40 million to 45 million barrel
drawdown in oil stocks kept on tankers at sea over June and
July, which it said far outweighed a rise in global onshore
stocks, estimated by the International Energy Agency to have
risen by around 21 million barrels.
(Additional reporting by David Sheppard and Emma Farge in
London, Gene Ramos and Robbert Gibbons in New York, and
Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
