* U.S. industry data shows large crude stockbuild last week
* Government data delayed to Friday
* Drop in Chinese oil demand weighs
* Euro slips as Greece rescue plan awaited
(Previous SINGAPORE, recast throughout)
By Ikuko Kurahone
LONDON, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Oil fell towards $73 a barrel on
Wednesday, dented by worries about weak demand in the world's
top two consumers after figures showed a large build in U.S.
crude inventories and a fall in China's imports.
U.S. crude futures <CLc1> fell 37 cents to $73.38 a barrel
by 0925 GMT. On Tuesday, crude futures rose more than 2 percent
to settle at $73.75. Crude oil is still on track a 2.1 percent
rise this week.
ICE Brent crude futures <LCOc1> were down 50 cents at
$71.63.
Crude stocks in the United States, the world's largest oil
consumer, increased by 7.2 million barrels to 337.6 million
barrels in the week to Feb. 5, industry group American Petroleum
Institute (API) said late on Tuesday.
The increase in crude inventories exceeded analysts'
expectations for a 1.5 million barrel rise. []
The release of official data from the U.S. Energy
Information Administration (EIA) has been delayed to Friday from
Wednesday, when it is normally released, because government
offices were closed due to a snow storm.
"In absence of the government data, the market should
continue trading under the spell of yesterday's API data. The
further fall of the refinery utilisation is worrisome," Eugen
Weinberg, commodities analyst with Commerzbank said.
The API data showed the refinery utilisation rate fell to 77
percent from 78 percent in the previous week and from 81.9
percent in the same week a year ago.
"It is the lowest level since Feb 1987, without hurricanes,
pointing to still very fragile oil demand in the United States,"
Weinberg said.
Crude prices are down nearly 8 percent this year to stand at
about half their July 2008 high of more than $147 a barrel.
Further pressure came from China and a stronger dollar.
Chinese crude imports slid in January, down to 4.03 million
barrels per day from their December peak of 5 million bpd,
although they were still up 33 percent on the year.
Net fuel exports from China were about 160,000 tonnes,
customs figures showed. []
Olivier Jakob with Petromatrix said the crude import volume
was the lowest level since May last year.
"With product exports more than double the levels of a year
ago, China has turned for the second month in a row into a net
exporter of petroleum products," he said in a research note.
The euro slipped on Wednesday, relinquishing some gains made
the previous day as the market braced for a European Union
summit, speculating that member countries may help Greece tackle
its fiscal problems. []
Comments from a senior German coalition source that European
governments had agreed in principle to support heavily indebted
Greece had helped the euro to rally on Tuesday. []
(Additional reporting by Jennifer Tan in Singapore; Editing
by Amanda Cooper)
