* EIA report due later may confirm bullish API data
* Market eyes Hurricane Bill, no immediate threat
* Kuwait sees no change to OPEC targets at Sept meeting
(Updates with prices, hurricane, Kuwait)
By Jennifer Tan
SINGAPORE, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Oil fell towards $69 on
Wednesday, after surging more than 3 percent in the previous
session on data that showed a surprise fall in U.S. crude
stocks, boosting hopes of demand recovery in the world's top
energy user.
The release of the more closely watched U.S. Energy
Information Administration (EIA) data later in the day could
confirm the American Petroleum Institute's (API) bullish
figures, and will determine the market's trading tone for the
rest of the week.
By 0715 GMT, U.S. crude for September delivery <CLc1> was
up 2 cents at $69.21 a barrel, off an earlier session high of
$70.50. London Brent crude for October <LCOc1> was down 27
cents at $72.10.
"What's keeping the market down is high U.S. inventories,
which is a proxy for demand, so the bullish API report has
turned sentiment around," said Tony Nunan, risk manager at
Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Corp.
"If the EIA data confirms the API report, we could see the
market head higher. The $76 level will be a top for the market
in the medium term until we see further drawdowns in the
inventories," he added.
API data released late on Tuesday showed that U.S. crude
oil stockpiles fell last week by 6.1 million barrels, against
forecasts for a 1.3 million barrel build. []
U.S. distillate stocks rose by 1.5 million barrels, more
than double what analysts had expected, while gasoline stocks
fell less than forecast.
EIA figures will be released at 1430 GMT.
Further boosting sentiment was Wall Street's strong
performance on Tuesday, when U.S. stocks rebounded from sharp
losses in the previous session, as better-than-expected results
from big retailers encouraged investors to return to the
market. []
Earnings from major U.S. retailers Home Depot <HD.N> and
Target <TGT.N> beat Wall Street expectations, offsetting
government data that showed U.S. housing starts and permits
fell unexpectedly in July after increasing in June.
[]
Traders are also keeping an eye on storms in the Atlantic
Basin, as any potential output disruption could boost prices,
but there was no immediate threat seen to U.S oil installations
in the Gulf of Mexico.
The region is home to a quarter of U.S. oil output and 15
percent of its natural gas production.
Hurricane Bill, the first of the 2009 Atlantic season, grew
quickly into a major Category 3 storm on Tuesday and could
strengthen as it curves north, likely missing the eastern
United States as it passes Bermuda.
Bill is expected to remain a large and powerful hurricane
for several days, said the U.S. National Hurricane Center, but
added that the storm posed no threat to oil installations in
the Gulf of Mexico. []
Meanwhile, Kuwait sees no need for OPEC to change oil
supply targets at its meeting in September as the oil price is
satisfactory, the country's oil minister said on Wednesday.
[]
OPEC, supplier of over a third of the world's oil, meets on
Sept. 9 in Vienna to discuss supply policy.
(Editing by Ben Tan)
