* Oil up nearly $1 as cold weather, OPEC cuts support
* Financial optimism helps as dollar falls, Japan stocks
jump
* US weekly crude stocks seen rising, cold curbs
distillates
* Cyclone shuts half Australia's oil output, likely
briefly
(Adds stock market, dollar moves in para 2, updates prices)
SINGAPORE, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose 2 percent on
Tuesday, reversing day-ago losses as traders focused on
short-term factors such as cold U.S. weather and an Australian
cyclone, despite forecasts of a further rise in U.S. crude
stocks.
Oil prices have clawed back from lows under $33 a barrel
over the past week on signs that members of the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries are making good on the group's
latest output cuts, and gains in Asian stock markets plus a
decline in the dollar versus the euro gave oil fresh impetus.
U.S. light, sweet crude for March delivery <CLc1> rose 91
cents to $46.64 a barrel by 0736 GMT. London Brent crude
<LCOc1> climbed 80 cents to $47.76 a barrel.
"People are expecting OPEC to really be serious, and the
weather's been cold in the northeast U.S., and here, so we're
getting a bit of short-term demand," said Tony Nunan, risk
management executive at Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Corp.
"We may have found a short-term bottom but nobody is
confident that we're heading further up. People will be
watching stocks to see if these OPEC cuts are going to work
their way through. The demand side is a moving target, and that
will be the battle -- can OPEC keep up with falling demand?"
While recent evidence suggests most of OPEC's members are
implementing the group's biggest ever 2.2 million barrel per
day (bpd) production cut agreed last month, U.S. crude oil
inventories continue to build as demand shrinks.
Stocks are expected to have risen a further 2.7 million
barrels last week, partly helped by seasonal refinery
maintenance, while colder weather helped draw down distillate
stocks by 800,000 barrels, according to a Reuters poll.
Gasoline stocks likely rose 1.3 million barrels. []
Oil traders will get an early indication on Wednesday's
government data with the release at 2130 GMT on Tuesday of
inventory figures from the industry group the American
Petroleum Institute, as the API shifts to a new, earlier
release schedule.
Perennial price hawk Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said
on Monday that OPEC was ready to cut more crude production to
defend oil prices [].
News that Cyclone Dominic in Australia shut in more than
200,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil production provided a
small measure of support to prices, although output was
expected to resume as soon as Wednesday as the storm passes.
[]
Another wave of job cuts across the corporate world
underscored the grim condition of the global economy, which has
already helped cut oil prices by more than $100 a barrel since
last July's peak as a recession erodes oil consumption.
But some hope appeared as Japan's Nikkei stock index
<> leapt 5 percent -- its biggest one-day gain since Dec.
15 -- after the government announced plans to buy shares in
companies whose capital is seriously hurt by the financial
crisis. []
A fall in the U.S. dollar against the euro also appeared to
encourage oil price gains. []
Later on Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama goes to
Capitol Hill to campaign for an $825 billion economic stimulus
package to be put to a House vote within days, while the
Federal Reserve begins a 2-day meeting expected to flesh out
its programmes to free up lending and boost the economy since
it cannot cut interest rates any further. []
(Reporting by Jonathan Leff; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
