* Crude stocks rise last week, Cushing to record high-EIA
* Gaddafi forces make gains vs Libyan rebels
* Coming up: U.S. jobless claims, 8:30 a.m. EDT Thursday
(Recasts, updates prices and market activity)
By Robert Gibbons
NEW YORK, March 30 (Reuters) - Oil prices eased on
Wednesday in choppy, thin trading, pressured by record high
stockpiles at the Cushing delivery point for U.S. crude even as
Libya and Middle East uncertainty supported oil, which remained
on track to end the first-quarter up more than 10 percent.
While gasoline inventories declined sharply and lifted U.S.
gasoline futures <RBc1>, crude inventories rose more than
expected last week and stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, hub
jumped to a record high, according to the Energy Information
Administration's weekly report. []
Crude futures trading volumes well below three-day averages
indicated traders remained comfortable on the sidelines as
prices were buffeted by inventory data, the volatile Libyan
conflict and unpredictable unrest in the Middle East.
Brent crude futures for May delivery <LCOc1> fell 3 cents
to settle at $115.13 a barrel, but more than $10 above their
$94.75 price ending 2010.
U.S. May crude futures <CLc1> fell 52 cents to settle at
$104.27 a barrel, swinging between $103.44 and $105.15, and
more than $12 for the quarter.
On Monday, U.S. gasoline futures <RBc1> moved to a premium
over heating oil <HOc1> for the first time since last August,
and the premium is now trading at 2.44-cents a gallon based on
Wednesday's settlements.
Gasoline futures' premium over heating oil reached 18 cents
a gallon in 2010.
U.S. CRUDE STOCKS UP, GASOLINE DOWN
U.S. crude inventories rose a more-than-expected 2.95
million barrels last week, but gasoline inventories fell 2.7
million barrels, the EIA report said.
Distillate stocks, which include heating oil and diesel
fuel, posted a slight gain against expectations of a dip.
"In addition to the fact that the large speculators are
still peeling off long positions in the crude oil, today's
dichotomy between the crude and gasoline markets was driven by
the weekly EIA report," Jim Ritterbusch, president at
Ritterbusch & Associates in Galena, Illinois, said in a note.
While recent drops in gasoline inventories reflect refiners
draining winter grade fuel ahead of a specification switch and
the summer driving season, analysts have noted resilient demand
despite rising pump prices.
U.S. fuel exports also have soared, with the EIA reporting
that finished gasoline exports in January were 87.3 percent
higher than a year ago. []
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
More on Middle East unrest: [] []
Libya Graphics http://link.reuters.com/neg68r
Interactive graphic http://link.reuters.com/puk87r
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
Helping limit oil losses was ADP's employment report
showing the U.S. private sector added 201,000 jobs in March,
with the data arriving ahead of Friday's closely watched
government monthly payrolls report. []
A weaker dollar <.DXY> also helped limit dollar-denominated
oil losses. Dollar weakness can be supportive to oil by making
it less expensive for buyers using other currencies and
attracting investment away from foreign exchange markets.
Unrest in Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain and the fight in Libya
has kept oil supply threats in focus, and analysts continue to
point out demand uncertainties with quake-hit Japan, sagging
U.S. consumer sentiment and euro zone debt problems.
OBAMA SEEKS LOWER OIL IMPORTS
Oil prices shrugged off President Barack Obama's speech
proposing to cut U.S. oil imports by a third over 10 years, a
goal that has eluded his predecessors.
The speech was short on details on how to curb U.S. energy
demand and Obama did not pretend there were any speedy measures
to lower fuel costs that he acknowledged were a "big concern"
to Americans.
(Additional reporting by David Sheppard in New York, Ikuko
Kurahone in London and Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore;
Editing by Marguerita Choy and David Gregorio)
