REFILE-Oil falls below $52 after 9 pct surge, eyes jobs data

                                
 (Corrects paragraph 11 to say data was released on Wednesday,
not Thursday)
                                
 * Oil falls under $52 on profit taking after 9 pct surge
                                
 * S.Arabia sees oil demand falling further, IEA may cut
fcast
                                
 * Investors eye U.S. unemployment data, non-farm payrolls
                                
 By Fayen Wong
                                
 PERTH, April 3 (Reuters) - Oil slid to under $52 a barrel
on Friday, retreating from the previous session's near 9
percent surge, as expectations of a continued weakness in
near-term energy demand prompted investors to take profit.
                                
 Oil posted its largest one-day percentage gain in three
weeks on Thursday after world leaders at the G20 summit agreed
a trillion-dollar deal to combat the deepest economic downturn
since the Great Depression, raising hopes that the measures
would restore global growth. [ID:nN02356876]
                                
 U.S. light crude for May delivery fell 82 cents to $51.82 a
barrel by 0245 GMT, paring some of Thursday's gains of $4.25
that lifted the contract to $52.64.
                                
 London Brent crude fell 75 cents to $52.
                                
 "Traders may be wanting to take profits before the release
of the U.S employment report, which has a potential to dampen
sentiment," said Toby Hassall, head of research at Commodities
Warrants Australia.
                                
 The market will keep a keen watch on economic data,
including U.S. March unemployment, non-farm and manufacturing
payrolls, due to be released later in the day, to gauge how the
world's largest economy was faring.
                                
 A poll showed that the ailing U.S. economy probably
continued to bleed jobs at a rapid rate in March, continuing to
drive up the jobless rate at a startling pace. [ID:nN01523085]
                                
 U.S stocks rallied for a third day on Thursday as more data
pointed to a stabilising economy and changes to an accounting
rule were seen as shoring up the volatile financial sector in
the short term. [ID:nN02288141] [.N]
                                
 U.S. factory orders rose in February for the first time in
seven months, while a rebound in China's official purchasing
managers' index (PMI) in March showed that the Chinese economy
may have bottomed out, China's chief statistics official said
on Friday. [nN02196557][nPEK25397]
                                
 "There are encouraging signs in the macroeconomic data, but
for oil markets, a look at the inventory numbers will
immediately raise doubts on whether a sustained rally is
warranted," Hassall said.
                                
 Data on Wednesday showed U.S. crude stocks rising again to
a fresh 16-year high due to higher imports, while products
inventories also surprisingly increased amid lower demand.
[EIA/S]
                                
 Oil registered its largest monthly and quarterly gain since
June 2008 earlier this week, thanks to a rally in global stock
markets and OPEC's production cuts, which helped lift oil
prices by 9.5 percent in the first quarter, snapping two
consecutive quarters of double-digit declines.
                                
 But crude prices are still down nearly $100 from last
July's record high as the global economic crisis eroded global
oil demand for the first time in 25 years.
                                
 Oil demand from developed countries will continue to
decline but global demand may revive later this year if the
economy improves, a Saudi Arabian oil official said on
Thursday. [ID:nL2729587]
                                
 The head of the International Energy Agency also said it
was likely to cut its global oil demand forecasts in light of
more bleak economic data. [ID:nL2944113]
 (Editing by Ben Tan)