UPDATE 2-Oil extends 3-mth high towards $82 on econ optimism

                                
 * Asian equities rise to highest in almost three months
                                
 * Coming Up: U.S. API weekly inventory report; 2030 GMT
                                
 * For a technical view, click: [ID:nSGE67200V]
  (Adds graphic on correlation with equities, updates prices)
                                
 By Alejandro Barbajosa
                                
 SINGAPORE, Aug. 3 (Reuters) - Oil prices extended
three-month highs towards $82 on Tuesday, tracking gains in
Asian equities following strong bank earnings and upbeat
manufacturing data for industrialised economies a day earlier.
                                
 U.S. September crude <CLc1> rose as much as 28 cents to
$81.62, 15 cents short of Monday's three-month intraday high,
and was up 19 cent at $81.53 a barrel by 0700 GMT, while ICE
Brent <LCOc1> rose 22 cents to $81.04.
                                
 The front-month U.S. contract rose 3 percent on Monday to
surpass $80 for the first time since early May. Prices had
traded between $70 and $80 for almost two months.
                                
 "It's a sustainable move," said Peter McGuire, managing
director at CWA Global Markets in Sydney. "We believe that the
U.S. dollar is heading lower, and the hurricane season is very
worrying. I think you will see $83 and $85 very shortly."
                                
 Asian shares rose to their highest levels in nearly three
months on Tuesday, after Wall Street surged and the euro
reached a three-month peak on Monday on the back of data
showing the U.S. manufacturing sector grew in July for a 12th
consecutive month, topping expectations. A weaker dollar
renders oil imports cheaper for non U.S. currency holders.
                                
 "Equities dragged the price up. Equity markets have been
very bullish. With earnings and economic data, I don't see it
stopping in the near term," McGuire said.
                                
 For a graphic on the correlation with equities:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/ABE_20100308150310.jpg
                                
 Global manufacturing showed little risk of a double-dip
recession as output in July grew in the United States and
Europe and a rare contraction in China suggested Beijing was
successfully reining in its hot economy. [ID:nSGE67100T]
                                
 SUPPLIES AND HURRICANES
                                
 The oil market's attention will turn to U.S. inventories
later on Tuesday, when the American Petroleum Institute will
publish industry stockpile figures. Government statistics on
supply and demand will follow from the U.S. Energy Information
Administration on Wednesday.
                                
 U.S. crude oil inventories probably fell last week as
imports slipped and the effect of Gulf of Mexico production was
interrupted briefly by Tropical Storm Bonnie, a Reuters
preliminary survey of analysts on Monday showed.
                                
 Averaging 9 analyst views, crude inventories were expected
to have fallen 1 million barrels in the week to July 30,
Monday's survey showed. [ID:nN02101720]
                                
 Supplies of distillates including diesel were forecast to
have increased 1.1 million barrels, while gasoline stocks were
expected to have fallen 700,000 barrels, breaking a string of
five weeks of gains despite peak consumption during the summer
driving season.
                                
 A drop in U.S. crude stockpiles would follow a jump of 7.3
million barrels to 360.8 million barrels in the week to July
23, the biggest since 2008, according to last week's EIA
report. Last week inventories were also expected to drop
because of Bonnie-related disruptions to shipping and
production.
                                
 Tropical Depression 4, which formed in the middle of the
Atlantic Ocean on Monday, was becoming better organized and
nearing tropical storm strength, the U.S. National Hurricane
Center said, but it was forecast to veer northeast before
reaching Florida. [ID:nN02270239]
                                
 The hurricane season is entering what in recent years has
been a period of peak activity between August and early
October. Atlantic storms sometimes enter the Gulf of Mexico,
posing a threat to U.S. and Mexican oil infrastructure.
                                
 The U.S. economy is improving but has yet to recover fully,
with high unemployment and a weak housing market leaving
consumers unsettled, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said
on Monday. [ID:nN02276865]
                                
 BP Plc <BP.L><BP.N> said on Monday it might still attempt
the first of two operations to permanently plug its ruptured
Gulf of Mexico well on Tuesday despite the technical delay of a
crucial test. [ID:nLDE6710WA]
 (Editing by Clarence Fernandez)