* Obama says U.S. to reduce oil imports by 1/3 in 10 years
* U.S. crude oil stocks forecast up: EIA data at 1530 GMT
* Gaddafi forces move east in Libya
* U.S. private sector adds jobs in line with expectations
(Update prices, quotes)
By Ikuko Kurahone
LONDON, March 30 (Reuters) - Oil fell on Wednesday, weighed
down by swelling crude inventories in the United States, while
President Barack Obama was expected to set an ambitious
long-term goal to cut oil imports.
U.S. crude briefly trimmed earlier losses and North Sea
Brent turned positive as U.S. employment data came out in line
with expectations and due to support from the civil unrest in
North Africa and the Middle East.
Brent crude futures <LCOc1> fell 6 cents to $115.10 a barrel
at 1348 GMT. U.S. crude <CLc1> was trading 57 cents lower at
$104.22.
The trading volume on both contracts was relatively small,
with the end of the first quarter nearing.
Prices have risen from $93 at the end of December, touching
2-1/2-year highs just below $120 in February.
"The ADP jobs report attracted buying, but there is just too
much uncertainty with Libya, the Middle East, whether Japan is
going to be a drag on the economy and consumer reaction to high
prices," said Andrew Lebow, broker at MF Global in New York.
"Those issues are not going to play out for a while."
U.S. ADP employment data showed the private sector added
201,000 jobs in March. []
Althought the jobs data was largely in line with
expectation, that was seen as relatively brighter than Tuesday's
gloomy reading of U.S. consumer confidence in March due partly
to high fuel costs.
Christopher Bellew with Bache Commodities cited bulging
crude oil stocks in the United States and a dip in fuel demand
between the winter heating season and the summer gasoline season
as a factor capping any gains in oil prices.
"In the short term we are at the end of the Northern
Hemisphere winter, with a seasonal fall in demand," Bellew said.
He added in the medium term prices are likely to be
supported by civil unrest in the oil-rich Arab world and an
expected increase in oil and gas demand following a global
backlash against nuclear power generation.
Nuclear reactors in Fukushima, Japan, continue to emit
radioactivity after severe damage caused by an earthquake and
tsunami earlier in March. []
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Graphic - US consumer confidence: http://r.reuters.com/nan78r
More on Middle East unrest: [] []
Libya Graphics http://link.reuters.com/neg68r
Interactive graphic http://link.reuters.com/puk87r
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U.S. government oil data is expected to show a 1.8 million
barrel increase in the week to March 25 when it is released at
1430 GMT, a Reuters poll of analysts showed. []
Late on Tuesday, separate data from industry group the
American Petroleum Institute showed crude stocks rose by a sharp
5.7 million barrels last week. []
In Libya, rebels pulled out of the oil town of Ras Lanuf on
Wednesday under heavy bombardment from Muammar Gaddafi's forces,
showing their weakness without Western air strikes to tip the
scales in their favour. []
A conference of 40 governments and international bodies on
Tuesday agreed to press on with a NATO-led aerial bombardment of
Libyan forces until Gaddafi complies with a U.N. resolution to
end violence against civilians. []
AMBITIOUS PLAN
In the long term, Obama will outline a strategy to cut oil
imports by a third over 10 years, focusing on energy security at
a time high gasoline prices could stall U.S. economic recovery.
The White House says this is a deliberate turn toward energy
security by Obama and will be followed by other events to
highlight his strategy. [] But the immediate market
reaction was limited.
"It sounds like a very ambitious target indeed," said
Carsten Fritsch, analyst at Commerzbank.
"It will be difficult to achieve. Perhaps there will be
large energy, fuel saving measures or they would need to allow
more oil drilling, but after the Gulf of Mexico (spill) it could
be difficult."
(Additional reporting by Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore and
Robert Gibbons in New York; editing by Jane Baird and Keiron
Henderson)
