UPDATE 5-Oil sinks below $48 as U.S. supply swells

                                
 * Oil falls over $1 on larger-than-expected crude build
                                
 * Market awaits EIA report for confirmation of higher stocks
                                
 * Oil under pressure as equities dive ahead of earnings
                                
 
                                
 (Updates prices, adds comment)
                                
 By Chris Baldwin
                                
 LONDON, April 8 (Reuters) - More U.S. data showing swollen
crude stocks pushed oil below $48 a barrel on Wednesday, and
analysts said there was little sign demand would soon rise to
soak up the excess.
                                
 Crude oil storage in the world's biggest energy consumer the
United States rose by 6.9 million barrels last week, the
American Petroleum Institute (API) said late on Tuesday, far
above analyst forecasts of a 2.1-million-barrel build.
[ID:nN07604794]
                                
 U.S. light crude for May delivery <CLc1> fell $1.66 a barrel
to $47.49 by 1032 GMT.
                                
 London Brent crude <LCOc1> fell $1.11 to $50.11.
                                
 "The situation is much more tense in Asian markets. The U.S.
inventories are not telling the whole story," said analyst Eugen
Weinberg at Commerzbank.
                                
 Third-biggest energy consumer Japan's crude inventories also
rose, touching their highest level in over a month as the
country's worst recession since World War Two eats into demand
for oil products. [ID:nT261347]
                                
 "If we see EIA data numbers higher this afternoon, I can not
rule out that we could drop further," Weinberg said.
                                
 The Energy Information Administration -- whose data is
generally seen as more comprehensive -- will release its weekly
report at 1430 GMT on Wednesday, and the market will watch for
more signs of rising stocks.
                                
 A Reuters poll forecast an average build of 1.9 million
barrels for crude stocks, already at their highest since July
1993. [EIA/S]
                                
 "All told, total crude inventories in the U.S. as of Friday,
March 27th ballooned to a record 1.07 billion barrels. That
equates to approximately 118 days of import cover," oil analysts
at the Schork Group wrote in the Schork Report.
                                
 "You still can't swing a cat without hitting a barrel of
crude oil in the United States," Schork Group analysts wrote.
                                
 
                                
 CORPORATE LOSSES
                                
 Britain's top share index fell 0.6 percent early on
Wednesday, led lower by banks and commodity stocks on concerns
over corporate earnings.
                                
 Heavyweight oil producers BP <BP.L>, Royal Dutch Shell
<RDSa.L>, BG Group <BG.L> and Cairn Energy <CNE.L> were down 0.4
to 1.1 percent.[.FTSE]
                                
 Aluminum producer Alcoa Inc <AA.N>, the first company to
report its quarterly results after Wall Street closed, showed a
second consecutive quarterly loss as metal prices and the autos
industry slumped. [ID:nN07485652]
                                
 Adding further pressure on oil, the U.S. dollar rose as
investors see the greenback as a safer haven at times of market
stress, making U.S. dollar-denominated commodities more
expensive for overseas investors. [USD/]
                                
 OPEC, which has agreed cuts amounting to 4.2 million barrel
per day (bpd) since September, is resigning itself to lower
prices this year.
                                
 OPEC can live with oil prices of $50-$60 for the rest of
2009, a source close its Angolan presidency said on Tuesday, as
many members have lowered their price expectations with the
focus on rebuilding a damaged global economy. [ID:nL7523851]
 (Additional reporting by Maryelle Demongeot in Singapore; 
editing by James Jukwey)