* China crude imports surge 35 pct in Sept. from year
earlier
* Technical signals neutral for oil price []
* Coming Up: U.S. API weekly oil inventories; 2030 GMT
(Adds strike halts French refineries, updates prices)
By Alejandro Barbajosa
SINGAPORE, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Oil rose past $82 on
Wednesday after China's crude imports jumped last month, while
a weaker dollar and expectations of economic stimulus by top
consumer the United States burnished the appeal of commodities
for investors.
U.S. crude for November <CLc1> rose 70 cents to $82.37 by
0700 GMT, about $2 from a five-month high above $84 reached
last week. November ICE Brent <LCOc1> gained 53 cents to
$84.03.
China's September crude oil imports rose 35 percent from a
year earlier to a record 5.67 million barrels per day, customs
data showed on Wednesday, indicating demand from the world's
second-largest consumer is surging. []
Oil ministers arriving in Vienna for OPEC's meeting on
Thursday, the first in seven months, signalled the producer
group would keep output targets steady. Saudi Arabia's Ali
al-Naimi on Monday said the oil market was "well balanced".
[]
The Chinese trade data also raised some hopes demand would
drain bloated inventories. Forecasts show U.S. crude
inventories rose last week, while stockpiles of oil products
fell.
"People are looking beyond the short term -- there is just
going to be unstoppable demand as China and India grow," said
Tony Nunan, a risk manager with Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Corp,
adding non-OECD growth would be enough "to power the market".
Automakers in China shipped 19.3 percent more passenger
cars to dealers in September than a year ago, the official
China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said on
Wednesday. []
For graphics on China September trade data, please click:
http://link.reuters.com/hat28p
QUANTITATIVE EASING
Japan, the world's no. 3 oil user, earlier on Wednesday
said the nation's core machinery orders unexpectedly jumped for
a third straight month in August. []
The Bank of Japan cut interest rates last week in a prelude
to what may be a second round of expansionary monetary policy
in the United States.
The Federal Reserve on Tuesday released minutes from its
September meeting, which showed Fed officials believed the
struggling recovery might soon need further help, and discussed
how that might be done. []
"Markets are focusing on the bigger picture of expectations
for quantitative easing, and looking at commodities as a hedge
against a weaker dollar," Nunan said.
The greenback fell about 0.3 percent against a basket of
currencies on Wednesday, making oil imports cheaper for
emerging economies, as markets eye the Fed's next meeting on
Nov. 2-3 for confirmation stimulus will come before year-end.
<.DXY>
"If the fundamentals were really terrible, the market would
ignore the exchange rate, but it doesn't look so bad," Nunan
said. "Inventories will hopefully take care of themselves."
U.S. crude inventories probably rose for a second week in a
row last week, adding 1.2 million barrels, a Reuters survey
showed, while stockpiles of distillates including heating oil
and diesel may have declined for a third straight week,
shedding 1.3 million barrels in the week to Oct. 8.
Gasoline supplies were also forecast to have slid for a
third week, by 1 million barrels. []
Industry group the American Petroleum Institute (API) will
issue its weekly inventory report on Wednesday at 2030 GMT,
followed by government statistics on stockpiles and demand from
the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday at
1500 GMT. Both reports come a day later than usual because of
Monday's Columbus Day holiday.
Oil markets will also focus on the release of the
International Energy Agency's (IEA) October oil market report
on Wednesday at 0800 GMT.
Robust growth in the world's emerging economies,
particularly China, may be sufficient to save the rest of the
world from a double-dip recession, IEA chief economist Fatih
Birol said on Tuesday. []
Workers at four out of five working Total refineries in
France will halt production progressively as part of a national
strike, the CGT French union said . []
Asian stocks rose on Wednesday with tech-linked shares
leading the way following an upbeat fourth-quarter forecast
from computer chipmaker Intel. []
The Obama administration on Tuesday lifted a ban on
deepwater drilling seven weeks ahead of schedule, saying new
rules cut the risk of a repeat of the BP <BP.L> oil spill, the
worst ever to hit the U.S. []
(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
