* China September trade data shows recovery there underway
* Gold hits record high, European stocks rise
* US weekly inventory data could show build in crude stocks
(Updates prices)
LONDON, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Oil surged for a fifth day on
Wednesday to a 2009 high above $75 a barrel, boosted by a weak
dollar and optimism about a global economic rebound that will
lead to higher energy demand.
The weak dollar, which fell to its lowest in more than a
year against a basket of other currencies, also boosted gold,
which hit a record. Dollar weakness makes oil and bullion more
affordable for non-dollar holders.
"There's a lot of positive sentiment right now, but that's
largely driven by the softer dollar," said Mark Pervan, senior
commodity strategist at ANZ Bank in Melbourne.
"Whether the rally is sustainable depends on further dollar
weakness. If there is, we could head towards the $75 to $80
range, but $75 would be a key resistance level."
U.S. crude jumped 79 cents to $74.94 a barrel by 1020 GMT,
after climbing to $75.15, the highest this year, earlier in the
session. Brent crude <LCOc1> rose 72 cents to $73.12.
Oil has more than doubled from below $33 in December driven
in part by hopes of economic recovery, a rally that some in the
industry argued had run ahead of weak oil demand, high
inventories and abundant supply.
Now, there is more acceptance that oil use is getting
stronger.
"The market is increasingly recognizing that oil demand is
indeed recovering," said Mike Wittner at Societe Generale.
"That's based on two things -- stabilisation in U.S. demand and
strong growth in Chinese demand."
"But it's a bit of a stretch to say that slowly improving
fundamentals have caused oil prices to go up by $5 in the past
week. The dollar-inflation story has been a part of that."
CHINESE GROWTH
Asian and European data on Wednesday supported a more
optimistic view of the economy.
Chinese trade figures provided fresh evidence of recovery in
the world's second-largest oil user, while oil data showed
strong year-on-year growth in oil imports in September.
[] []
And Euro zone industrial output accelerated
month-on-month in August and July production was revised
upwards, providing evidence the area's economy is likely to have
started growing in the third quarter.
Producer group OPEC on Tuesday became the latest forecaster
to bump up global oil demand estimates. []
Earnings are due from a number of major U.S. firms this
week, and the oil market is tracking corporate results closely
for signs of a broad economic rebound.
Tech bellwether Intel Corp's <INTC.O> quarterly outlook and
results shattered expectations on Tuesday, boosting its shares
and fuelling optimism over a wider recovery in the sector.
Cold weather in the United States has also supported prices.
Heating demand will be higher than normal this week, the
National Weather Service said on Monday. []
U.S. inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute is
due later in the session. A Reuters poll forecasts a
700,000-barrel rise in crude stocks. []
Analysts who use past price moves to predict future
direction said a further rally would depend on U.S. crude, also
known as WTI, closing above $75 resistance.
"The advance in WTI is in our view purely technical and
dollar linked -- hence reversals can be sharp when and if the
dollar stops to fall off the cliff," said Olivier Jakob, analyst
at Petromatrix.
(Reporting by Alex Lawler; Editing by Sue Thomas)
