* Japan Feb exports, crude imports plunge
* China c.bank adviser says economy has hit bottom
* Asian equities down after Wall St slide
* U.S. crude inventories likely rose 1.2 mln barrels
(Adds Japan exports plunge, China c.bank adviser views)
By Chua Baizhen
SINGAPORE, March 25 (Reuters) - Oil fell on Wednesday on
further signs of easing demand in the world's top consumers and
the deepening economic crisis, and as equities ebbed on fading
optimism about a U.S. bank rescue plan.
Data showed rising crude stocks in the United States and a
fall in crude imports and rise in gasoline stocks in Japan, the
world's biggest and third-biggest oil users respectively.
Oil demand is suffering as economies slow, and new evidence
of the effects of the financial crisis came from Japan, which
posted another record drop in exports in February as world
demand for cars and electronics suffered. []
U.S. light crude for May delivery <CLc1> fell 72 cents to
$53.26 a barrel by 0654 GMT, after touching a near three-month
high above $54 on Tuesday.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> fell 80 cents to $52.70.
"The market's getting ahead of itself. It looked like there
was light at the end of the tunnel in this recession when the
U.S. government announced plans to buy the toxic assets," said
Tony Nunan, risk manager at Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Corp.
The optimism generated after the U.S. government unveiled
plans to clean up bank balance sheets seemed to fade, with U.S.
stock markets slipping on Tuesday and Asian stock markets
following on Wednesday. []
The worldwide recession is hammering demand for oil,
reflected in the latest data.
The American Petroleum Institute said on Tuesday that
commercial crude oil inventories rose by a bigger-than-expected
by 4.6 million barrels last week, and a Reuters poll of
analysts forecasts the more closely followed Energy Information
Administration numbers later on Wednesday to also show a crude
build. [] []
Energy demand in the United States has been hard-hit by the
economic meltdown, and global consumption has been shrinking
for the first time in a quarter century, bringing oil prices to
below $33 last December.
Other major consumers are also feeling the pinch, with
Japan's crude oil imports falling to their lowest for the month
of February in 20 years. []
But Nunan said it is a positive sign that crude, which is
up more than 50 percent since the middle of last month, has
been able to hold onto most its gains in the face of the
evidence of weak demand.
"Even with the API report on the stockbuild, prices didn't
come off that much. It seems like the market has consolidated
above $50," said Mitsubishi's Nunan.
"It's going to be hard to get the market up from here, but
at least people are feeling that the bottom has been put into
the oil market," he said.
Adding optimism amid the gloom, a Chinese central bank
adviser said the world's number three economy has touched
bottom, citing a 25-percent rise in car sales and accelerating
investment in the country as signs of economic recovery.
"Before (the economy) bottoms out, it has to bottom. I
believe it has bottomed, with the stimulus package and signs of
recovery in some industries," said Fan Gang, who sits on the
Chinese central bank's monetary policy advisory committee, in a
Reuters interview in Hong Kong. []
(Editing by Michael Urquhart)
