* Oil retreats from 8-week intraday high above $83
* OPEC officials say prices within their desired range
* Coming up: Weekly U.S. jobless claims (1330 GMT)
(Updates prices, headline, recasts)
By David Sheppard
LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - Oil rose above $82 a barrel on
Thursday but remained below an eight-week high hit a day earlier
as a spike in Chinese inflation had investors mulling prospects
of monetary tightening in the heart of energy demand growth.
Expectations the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) will pump well above production targets next
quarter also weighed on sentiment, but falling gasoline
inventories in the United States and the first signs of a
recovery in demand in 18 months supported prices.
U.S. crude for April <CLc1> rose 10 cents to $82.19 a barrel
by 1124 GMT, after touching $83.03 on Wednesday, the highest
level since oil's 15-month high of $83.95 on Jan. 11. London ICE
April Brent <LCOc1> rose 14 cents to $80.62 a barrel.
"While we think crude prices will test their 2010 high, they
are unlikely to substantially exceed it," MF Global analyst
Edward Meir said.
"Instead, a potential double-top at $83.95 should provide a
technical sell signal that could bring prices back below the $80
mark."
Consumer inflation has soared to a 16-month high in China,
the world's second largest oil consumer, and a raft of economic
data showed broad-based strength, providing fresh arguments for
policy tightening in a bid to stop the economy overheating.
China's booming economy has seen oil imports soar, hitting
their second highest ever monthly level in February
[]. On Wednesday, OPEC said Chinese daily oil demand
has jumped by almost 2 million barrels in just five years to
stand around 8.6 million barrels per day.
OPEC, which pumps at least one in every three barrels of
oil in the world, meets in Vienna on March 17 to discuss
production policy. Officials have said this week they do not
expect a change in output targets while prices are within their
desired range. []
"You are going to see $75 to $85 until OPEC changes their
views," said Peter McGuire, managing director of Commodity
Warrants Australia in Sydney. "Given that the U.S. dollar is
appreciating, they are relatively content with what they are
receiving for their oil."
The dollar edged higher against a basket of major currencies
on Thursday, and is up almost 8 percent since the end of
November.
A stronger dollar boosts the purchasing power of oil
exporters, including OPEC members. A weaker greenback usually
supports oil prices as it makes dollar-denominated commodities
less expensive for holders of other currencies. []
OPEC has restricted output since the onset of the financial
crisis in a bid to support prices. But the group's compliance
with its officially targeted cut of 4.2 million barrels per day
(bpd) has slipped to just 53 percent as prices have risen.
Output from the organisation is bloating U.S. crude
inventories. They have climbed for the past six weeks, showing a
1.4-million-barrel gain to 343 million barrels in the week to
March 5, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on
Wednesday. []
The nation's gasoline stockpiles showed a surprise decrease
of 2.9 million barrels, the EIA said, while distillate stocks
including heating oil and diesel fell by 2.2 million barrels.
U.S. total oil product demand over the past four weeks was
19.41 million bpd, up 3.8 percent from a year ago, showing the
first consistent recovery in demand for 18 months.
(Additional reporting by Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore;
Editing by Keiron Henderson)
