* Oil up more than 1 percent near $60
* Awaits U.S. EIA weekly data to confirm inventory drawdown
* US April retail sales, due at 1230 GMT, may be bright
spot
* China April crude runs rise 2nd time in 6 mths
(Updates with China refinery runs, prices)
By Jennifer Tan
SINGAPORE, May 13 (Reuters) - Oil extended gains towards
$60 a barrel on Wednesday, after hitting a six-month high the
previous day, as U.S. weekly inventory data showed a drawdown
versus forecasts for a stock build, boosting hopes for demand
recovery in the world's top energy user.
Oil was also buoyed by a weaker U.S. dollar, which slid to
a four-month low against a basket of currencies as growing
optimism about the global economy boosted investors' risk
appetite and curbed demand for the greenback as a safe haven.
[]
The market will await the U.S. Energy Information
Administration's (EIA) weekly report at 1430 GMT to confirm the
surprise fall in crude stocks.
April retail sales data and March business inventory
figures due later in the day would also provide more clues on
the health of the U.S. economy.
By 0640 GMT, U.S. crude for June delivery <CLc1> was up 86
cents at $59.71 a barrel. It settled 35 cents higher at $58.85
a barrel on Tuesday, off an earlier peak of $60.08, its highest
level since November. London Brent crude <LCOc1> rose 91 cents
to $58.85.
"Sentiment has been pretty bullish for the better part of
the last month or two, and we believe crude will find $60 as
the floor and trend higher in the next few weeks," said Peter
McGuire, managing director of Commodity Warrants Australia.
"Also, we're moving into the period of higher demand in the
northern hemisphere and hurricane season, which could affect
supplies from the U.S. Gulf, so we expect a range of $61-$62
pretty soon."
The American Petroleum Institute (API) said on Tuesday that
U.S. crude inventories fell 3.1 million barrels to 370.7
million barrels last week, against a forecast of a 1.4 million
barrel increase in a Reuters poll of analysts. [] []
Adding to positive sentiment was data that showed Chinese
refinery output had accelerated in April, registering a second
yearly rise in six months, as refiners stepped up supplies amid
a recent big fall in inventories.
Coupled with the second-highest ever daily crude imports
last month, signs are pointing to a strong rebound in fuel
demand for the world's second-biggest oil consumer.
[]
Another bright spot may come with the release of U.S. April
retail sales at 1230 GMT, expected to remain unchanged from
from a 1.2 percent decline in March, a Reuters poll of
economists showed. Excluding automobiles, sales are seen up 0.2
percent compared with a 0.9 percent slide the prior month.
[]
Oil has plunged from a record high above $147 a barrel hit
last July, but a rally in stock markets over the last few
months has helped lift crude up almost 80 percent from a
January low of $32.70 a barrel.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is
unlikely to cut its oil output target at its meeting later this
month, a source close to the group's president and a second
OPEC delegate said on Tuesday. []
The producer cartel is also due to release its monthly
report later at 1000 GMT.
(Editing by Ben Tan)
