* EIA reports rise in U.S. crude, dollar weakens
* U.S. jobless claims fall; new homes sales up
* Oil consensus forecast in 2010 rises-Reuters poll
(Recasts, updates prices, market activity)
By Rebekah Kebede
NEW YORK, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Crude oil prices settled near
$78 a barrel on Wednesday, supported by lower-than-expected
builds in U.S. oil inventories last week, a weak U.S. dollar
and gains on Wall Street.
Crude stocks rose 1.0 million barrels, the Energy
Information Administration said, less than the
1.2-million-barrel increase forecast. []
U.S. crude for January <CLc1> settled at $77.96 a barrel,
up $1.94.
Brent crude <LCOc1> settled at $78.44, up $1.98.
"The EIA report prompted some modest price support as the
1-million-barrel crude stock build was slightly smaller than
expectations and well below yesterday's API guidance," said Jim
Ritterbusch, president, Ritterbusch & Associates in Galena,
Illinois.
On Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute released a
report showing a 3.3-million-barrel rise in stocks. []
The build in U.S. crude inventories was due in part to
imports and Gulf of Mexico rebounding after Tropical Storm Ida,
analysts said.
Prices were also buoyed when the U.S. dollar fell to a
15-month low after U.S. data on jobless claims, personal
consumption and new home sales fed economic optimism.[]
Consumer spending rose more than expected in the world's
largest economy, while new jobless benefits claims dropped. New
U.S. home sales in October rose to their highest level in a
year. []
Wall Street stocks [] rose after the data, boosting
crude, which has more than doubled from below $33 in December,
though far below its record of more than $147 hit in July
2008.
SOFT FUNDAMENTALS
Analysts noted that the EIA data showed demand for crude
oil is still weak.
"Fundamentals remain soft... there's no reason to open the
champagne here. Refinery runs are nothing to write home about,
under 14 million barrels a day," said Antoine Halff, first vice
president, deputy head of research, Newedge Group, New York.
Refinery utilization rates, while up 0.9 percent from the
prior week, were still 5.9 percent below year-ago levels,
according to the EIA data.
Gasoline inventories rose 1 million barrels to 210.1
million barrels, above analyst expectations for a 300,000
barrel rise.
Distillate stockpiles, which includes heating oil and
diesel, dropped 500,000 barrels to 166.9 million barrels.
"The (distillate) draw was slightly larger than consensus
expectations, but puts only a small dent in the major surplus,"
said Timothy Evans, energy analyst at Citi Futures Perspective
in New York.
Meanwhile, demand for fuel was still weak, with distillate
demand over the past four weeks, down 9.5 percent from year ago
levels. Gasoline demand over the last four weeks was up 0.5
percent from the same period a year ago.
U.S. crude was expected to average $75.40 a barrel in 2010,
a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday, but analysts said ample
supplies would keep short-term price growth in check. []
(Additional reporting by Robert Gibbons in New York, Bruce
Nichols in Houston, Alex Lawler in London, Jennifer Tan in
Singapore and the Reuters energy desk in New York; Editing by
David Gregorio)
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rebekah.kebede.reuters.com@reuters.net))
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