* U.S. oil inventories forecast to rise for 2nd week
* Global markets jittery on concerns over Greece
* U.S. consumer confidence eyed
(Updates prices, paragraph 2 )
By Ikuko Kurahone
LONDON, April 27 (Reuters) - Oil slipped below $84 on
Tuesday, pulled lower by expectations of a rise in U.S.
stockpiles and nagging concerns Greece's economic trauma could
have knock-on effects on the wider economy and demand for fuel.
U.S. crude for June delivery <CLc1> fell $1.01 to $83.19 a
barrel by 1305 GMT, while ICE June Brent crude <LCOc1> dipped by
81 cents to $86.02.
"The market is a little worried about the Greece situation
and probable builds in inventories again in the U.S.
statistics," said Tony Nunan, a risk manager with Mitsubishi
Corp.
Inventories of crude oil in the United States, the world's
top energy consumer, probably rose for the second consecutive
week, a Reuters' survey of analysts showed ahead of two sets of
oil data to be released later on Tuesday and Wednesday.
[]
Industry group American Petroleum Institute will release its
report for the week to April 23 at 2030 GMT on Tuesday. Official
Energy Information Administration data will follow at 1430 GMT
on Wednesday.
Analysts in the survey expected a 400,000 barrel increase in
U.S. crude oil stocks. Oil product inventories, such as
gasoline, were also forecast to rise. []
The oil futures market structure, rather than outright
prices, has reflected high levels of inventories especially at
at Cushing in Oklahoma, the United States, the delivery point of
U.S. crude.
The swollen inventories have made the prompt U.S. crude
futures cheaper than longer dated contracts, a structure called
contango, which has steepened over the past month.
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For a graphic showing the growing contango:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/RSW_20102704123543.jpg
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The euro slipped and European shares dipped in response to
renewed worries about Greece's debt after Germany demanded
painful new austerity measures from Athens in return for
financial aid. [][]
But oil markets are still factoring in economic recovery and
rising demand.
Oil has risen by about 65 percent from a year earlier, led
higher by growth in demand from emerging markets such as China
and brightening outlooks for U.S. economy. In late April last
year, U.S. crude futures were trading around $50-$51.
British oil major BP plc <BP.L>, the first international oil
major to report first quarter earnings, benefited from the rise
in oil prices and posted a 135 percent increase in profit from a
year earlier []
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
For graphics of BP profits and oil price and BP refining
margins and the oil price, please click:
http://link.reuters.com/sur59j
http://r.reuters.com/xur59j
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Traders will look for further clues to economic recovery
from the U.S. April consumer confidence data on Tuesday, as well
as the outcome of the Federal Reserve's two-day, policy-setting
meeting, also starting Tuesday.
(Additional reporting by Barbara Lewis in London and
Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore; Editing by Keiron Henderson)
