* Obama administration to move swiftly on stimulus
* U.S. crude, gasoline stocks rise in EIA report
* China slows sharply in Q4; BOJ warns of deflation
* U.S. stocks fall; Microsoft earnings miss forecasts
(Recasts, updates throughout)
By Rebekah Kebede
NEW YORK, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Thursday as
hopes that the White House would move quickly on an economic
stimulus package outweighed flagging demand and rising
inventories in the world's top consumers.
U.S. crude <CLc1> settled 12 cents higher at $43.67 a
barrel, after falling as low as $40.41 earlier. London Brent
<LCOc1> settled at $45.39 a barrel, up 37 cents.
Earlier in the day, crude prices had dropped after a U.S.
government report showed that crude oil, gasoline and
distillate fuels rose last week as demand for fuels weakened
again. []
The U.S. stock market pared early losses after a spokesman
said President Obama's administration is committed to moving as
quickly as possible on an economic stimulus plan.
[]
"Crude is still resilient, despite the big build you have
seen in the EIA data. I have a feeling that there will soon be
a rebound in the stock market and that will spill over to the
energy markets," said Mark Waggoner, president of Excel Futures
in Huntington Beach, California.
"In the last week, I've seen investor confidence improving,
with the new Obama administration now installed ... I feel that
if this confidence continues, it will spill into more
(consumer) buying and that will improve demand for gasoline and
other energy products," he added.
Oil fell in early trade after U.S. Energy Information
Administration data showed that crude oil inventories jumped
6.1 million barrels last week, well above expectations for a
build of 1.4 million barrels. []
Gasoline stocks climbed to 6.5 million barrels, while
distillate stocks rose unexpectedly by 800,000 barrels.
"Demand continues to be incredibly weak. Industrial demand
and trucking demand (for diesel) is extremely weak," said
Antoine Halff, first vice president of research at Newedge
Group in New York, noting reports of low import and export
activity on the U.S. West Coast.
"There is increasing evidence of a collapse of not only
domestic industrial manufacturing activity but also in U.S.
foreign trade."
Oil prices have tumbled from record highs over $147 a
barrel hit in July as the economic crisis hits global demand.
Economic data showed new claims for U.S. jobless benefits
exceeded analyst expectations while home-building slid to a
record low in December. []
China's economic growth slumped to 6.8 percent last
quarter, dragging down the pace of expansion for all of 2008 to
a seven-year low of 9.0 percent as the full force of the global
financial crisis struck home. []
Apparent oil demand in the No. 2 consumer fell for a second
month in December as refiners cut production by the steepest
rate in seven and a half years on weaker consumption and
stockpiles grew. []
In addition, the central bank of Japan -- the third largest
oil consumer -- predicted two years of deflation as Asia's
largest economies buckle under the strain of the financial
crisis. []
(Additional reporting by Matthew Robinson and Gene Ramos in
New York, David Sheppard, Christopher Johnson and Alex Lawler
in London; Editing by Christian Wiessner)
