* U.S. crude inventories post 9th straight weekly gain - EIA
* Prices stay close to 2010 intraday peak of $83.95
* Coming Up: U.S. nonfarm payrolls for March on Friday
(Updates prices)
By Alejandro Barbajosa
SINGAPORE, April 1 (Reuters) - Oil slipped on Thursday from
the highest closing price in almost 18 months as investors
liquidated positions ahead of the Easter holiday.
U.S. crude for May delivery <CLc1> fell 30 cents to $83.46
a barrel at 0555 GMT, after settling at $83.76 a barrel on
Wednesday, the highest close since October 2008. London ICE
Brent <LCOc1> declined 26 cents to $82.44.
U.S. crude futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange will
not trade on Friday because of the holiday.
"The trigger for downside in the short term will be
liquidation from speculative funds because there is an Easter
holiday this weekend," said Keichi Sano, general manager of
research at SCM Securities in Tokyo.
Oil prices dipped briefly on Wednesday after government
data showing U.S. crude inventories rose by 2.9 million barrels
to 354.2 million barrels last week, their ninth straight gain.
Gasoline stockpiles logged a modest but unexpected gain.
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"Yesterday's data was a bit weak, but the market still has
good appetite to go higher," Sano said. "The global economy is
getting better. I begin to feel that real demand is much
stronger that what we see."
The first-quarter increase of 5.5 percent for front-month
crude was the fifth consecutive gain for the contract, but its
more than doubling from a December 2008 low still puts it well
short of a record high hit just five months before that.
It is this volatility that oil producers and consumers hope
to tackle in annual meetings on the outlook for energy markets,
part of an effort to deepen cooperation between producer and
consumer members of the International Energy Forum.
[]
"This is a very big achievement. Years ago the producers
and consumers had absolutely (no) dialogue. We are seeing a lot
of change," said Qatar's Oil Minister Abdullah al-Attiyah in
Cancun, Mexico, where minister met.
After the wide swings in the past two years, prices have
recently stabilised near the range favoured by members of the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
between $70 and $80 a barrel.
Last quarter, oil traded from a peak of $83.95 in January
to as low as $69.50 a barrel in February, a range of less than
$15.
Implied volatility for U.S. crude is now around its lowest
level since before prices surged to a record $147.27 a barrel
on July 11, 2008, before plummeting to $32.40 in December of
that year.
With commodities markets generally still closely watching
economic developments, investors will focus on Friday's nonfarm
U.S. payrolls for March, forecast to have increased in a
Reuters survey.
A rise would mark only the second time payrolls have
increased since the recession started in December 2007,
although this might be partly on the back of hiring for the
2010 census. []
China's vast manufacturing sector moved up a gear in March
as factories reopened following a lengthy shutdown for the
Lunar New Year holidays, a business survey showed on Thursday,
indicating energy demand will continue to grow from the world's
second-largest oil user. []
India's top privately run refiner Reliance Industries will
not renew a contract to import crude oil from Iran for
financial year 2010, two sources familiar with the supply deal
said on Thursday. []
(Editing by Michael Urquhart)
