* Oil adds to 2 pct rally, rising further above $51 a barrel
* Equities rise on recovery expectations, earnings
* World Health Organisation says swine flu pandemic imminent
* Mexico orders five-day partial economic shutdown
(Updates prices, detail, previous dateline Singapore)
By David Sheppard
LONDON, April 30 (Reuters) - Oil rose towards $52 a barrel
on Thursday, extending the previous day's gains as traders
focused on improving economic data and draining fuel stocks
rather than the swine flu outbreak.
A surprise 4.7 million barrel decline in U.S. gasoline
stocks ahead of the driving season and stock market gains aided
oil's 2 percent rise on Wednesday, although prices remained
stuck in the $45-$55 range of the past six weeks.
U.S. light, sweet crude <CLc1> for June delivery rose 72
cents to $51.69 a barrel by 0855 GMT. Brent crude <LCOc1> gained
36 cents to $51.14.
Prices are on track to gain 3 percent this month, their
third monthly rise, but the rebound from February's $33 low has
slowed as traders await further evidence the economy's decline
is easing, offering an improved outlook for oil demand.
"Investors are looking to see if we're on the cusp of a real
recovery, with consumer confidence starting to improve just as
the U.S. driving season approaches," Bank of Ireland analyst
Paul Harris said.
"In that context, swine flu has become almost a sideshow for
the oil market -- it might impact demand in specific areas like
jet fuel, but if we can confirm the overall economy has
bottomed, prices should slowly grind higher."
The World Health Organization (WHO) raised its threat level
on the swine flu virus and said a possible pandemic was
imminent. However, the WHO has stopped short of recommending
travel restrictions or border closures.
Mexican President Filipe Calderon ordered a five-day partial
shutdown of the economy on Friday to try to contain the virus.
[]
Bulging U.S. crude stocks helped keep price gains in check.
The Energy Information Administration's weekly report showed a
4.1 million barrel increase in crude oil stockpiles, bringing
inventories to a new 19-year high, and a 1.8 million barrel
increase in unseasonally high distillate stocks. []
Weak demand and low prices have encouraged traders to store
crude. Future oil contracts for delivery further down the line
are trading at a significant premium to current prices, with oil
for delivery one year hence above $61 a barrel.
Commerzbank analyst Eugen Weinberg said U.S. imports had
been boosted by the market structure.
"That additional volumes of crude are being sent to the U.S.
at a time when demand for crude is stalling appears odd,"
Weinberg said in a research note.
"(But) storage of this crude geographically near to where
U.S. crude is priced enables the most efficient capturing of the
value in the forward curve when trading in physical barrels of
oil."
ECONOMIC SIGNALS
World stocks struck a four-month peak on Thursday, powered
by gains in Asia, as investors took heart from signs of
improvement in the U.S. economy suggesting regional exporters
may need to start cranking up production. []
Traders looked past the surprisingly big 6.1 percent
contraction in the economy in the first quarter to focus on the
details of a big run-down in inventories.
Hints of future expansion were further reinforced by
comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve, which said the pace of
deterioration in the economy appeared to be slowing.
[] []
Adding to the growing glimmers of economic hope, industrial
output in hard-hit Japan rose 1.6 percent in March, the first
gain in six months.
(Additional reporting by Jonathan Leff and Maryelle Demongeot
in Singapore; Editing by Anthony Barker)
