* U.S. inventory data from API due at 2030 GMT
* OPEC leaves 2010 oil demand forecast unchanged.
* U.S. exchange says will boost position limits enforcement
(Updates prices, background)
By Catherine Bosley
LONDON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Oil rose past $69 a barrel on
Tuesday, lifted by an expected draw in U.S. crude stocks and
better-than-expected U.S. retail sales data, but concerns about
rising U.S. distillate inventories capped gains.
The market was awaiting the weekly crude inventory report
from the American Petroleum Institute (API) at 2030 GMT.
Analysts forecast a 2.7-million-barrel draw in crude stocks but
a 1.5-million-barrel increase in distillates and an
800,000-barrel build in gasoline stocks. []
Prices were little moved after OPEC left its 2010 oil demand
forecast unchanged, saying evidence of an impending upturn in
the world economy appeared to be gathering but that recovery
would be gradual.[]
U.S. crude for October delivery <CLc1> rose 73 cents to
$69.59 a barrel by 1229 GMT, while Brent <LCOc1> was up 22 cents
to $67.66. Trade in Brent was distorted by the expiry of the
front-month contract at close of business on Tuesday.
"There is a concern about inventory building," Christophe
Barret, analyst with Calyon, told Reuters Television.
"The amount of gasoil in storage will put some pressure on
crude prices in the coming weeks," Barret said, adding that he
thought U.S. crude would fall to $65 a barrel in the last three
months of 2009.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration, a government
agency, will issue its own inventory report on Wednesday.
VTB Capital analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov also said distillates
would be the most-watched API number, with demand in them
expected to rise as temperatures in North America drop in the
run up to winter and on a pick-up in industrial production.
Sales at U.S. retailers rose at their fastest pace in
three-and-a-half years in August, an indicator of reviving
economic demand in the world's largest oil user. []
POSITION LIMITS
The market was jittery after news the CME Group <CME.O>,
which runs NYMEX, has notified traders and brokers of tighter
enforcement of existing position limits on NYMEX, CME, and other
exchanges as of Sept. 14. []
But a source told Reuters on Monday that the CME will not
boost enforcement of positions limits and that the advisory was
"routine." []
Some oil traders said they interpreted the advisory as a CME
warning that it could soon offer fewer exemptions for exceeding
position limits.
"There's a lot of talk about (the CME advisory),"
Kryuchenkov said. "It comes on top of the ongoing CFTC
investigation and lawmakers pushing for tougher regulation. It
all piles up."
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission aims to rein
in speculation in energy and commodity trading, especially oil.
Excessive speculation has been blamed for sending crude on a run
to nearly $150 a barrel in 2008.
For more on the CFTC, see: []
Meanwhile, the dollar index <.DXY> was a touch stronger, off
the one-year low of 76.457 points hit last week. A rising dollar
makes dollar-denominated commodities more expensive to holders
of other currencies.
(Additional reporting by Sambit Mohanty in Singapore and Jane
Grieve in London; editing by Anthony Barker)
