* U.S. crude oil stocks fall 7.3 million barrels - API
* For a technical view, click []
* Coming Up: EIA U.S. inventory report at 1500 GMT
(Updates throughout)
By Christopher Johnson
LONDON, July 8 (Reuters) - Oil rose above $75 per barrel on
Thursday, supported by a rally in stock markets, U.S. jobless
data and a report showing a sharp fall in crude inventories in
the United States, the world's biggest oil consumer.
The euro surged to a two-month high and Asian stocks climbed
to their highest in over a week on optimism over the earnings
season and growing tolerance for risk. [] []
U.S. stock index futures rose after data showed first-time
claims for jobless benefits fell more than expected last week.
[] []
U.S. crude oil futures for August <CLc1> rose as much as
$1.81 to $75.88 a barrel, the highest intraday price since June
30, and were up $1.50 at $75.57 by 1400 GMT. ICE Brent crude for
August <LCOc1> rose $1.33 to $74.84.
Oil prices are still well below their 19-month peak above
$87 reached in early May, although they have rebounded sharply
from a trough below $65 on May 20.
Volatility has stabilised for U.S. crude oil after spiking
in May as front-month futures have traded around $75 per barrel
with 30-day volatility near 40 percent, Reuters data show.
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For a graphic showing the outright price, daily percentage
change and volatility of front-month U.S. crude futures, click:
http://link.reuters.com/meb56m
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"Commodities prices have made gains on a broad front thanks
to friendlier equity markets," said Eugen Weinberg, commodity
analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt. "The API inventory data
released yesterday evening gave additional support to prices."
The American Petroleum Institute (API) said in a report late
on Wednesday that U.S. crude oil inventories tumbled 7.3 million
barrels last week, more than three times the expected drop.
STORM WARNING
Government statistics on U.S. oil inventories and demand
from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) follow the API
data on Thursday at 1500 GMT. []
Expectations are for crude stockpiles to have dropped 2.3
million barrels, according to a Reuters survey.
Stockpiles fell after Hurricane Alex forced some producers
in the U.S. Gulf to curb production and Mexico to close loading
terminals that send most of their output to U.S. refiners.
A tropical depression has formed over the northwestern Gulf
of Mexico and is heading towards the Texas-Mexico border, a
region still recovering from Alex, the U.S. National Hurricane
Center said. []
A tropical storm warning was issued in the lower Rio Grande
valley along the border, from south of Baffin Bay, Texas to Rio
San Fernando, Mexico. The warning signalled the storm could make
landfall within the next 24 hours. The expected course takes the
weather system away from main oil-producing regions of the Gulf.
Gasoline stocks fell 191,000 barrels, the API said, in line
with analysts' projections, while distillates including heating
oil and diesel fell 1 million barrels, contrary to a forecast
for a 1.4 million-barrel gain. []
Other data was also supportive.
The International Monetary Fund raised its 2010 global
growth forecast on Thursday, citing an expansion in Asia and in
U.S. private demand. The IMF upgraded its 2010 global output
growth forecast to 4.6 percent from 4.2 percent after a fall of
0.6 percent in 2009. []
The IMF said a double-dip recession was unlikely.
On Wednesday, the EIA raised its 2010 world oil demand
growth forecast by 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) from its
previous estimate. The EIA now expects oil demand to climb by
1.56 million bpd in 2010 to 85.82 million bpd.
Nearly all the growth in world oil consumption this year
will come from outside the major industrialised countries, led
by China, Saudi Arabia and Brazil, it said. []
(Additional reporting by Alejandro Barbajosa; editing by Alison
Birrane)
