* Oil prices rebound, snapping an 11 pct drop since Dec. 1
* Data to show US crude stocks fell last week-Reuters poll
* U.S. cold spell may boost heating oil usage
* Dollar firms to 6-week high vs. foreign currency basket
(Changes dateline from previous LONDON, adds details,
prices.)
By Joshua Schneyer
NEW YORK, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Oil rose above $70 a barrel on
Tuesday, snapping a nine-day losing streak, as traders bet that
government data would show U.S. crude stocks fell last week,
and colder-than-normal U.S. weather could boost demand for
heating oil.
Oil prices rebounded Tuesday from their longest continuous
losing streak in more than eight years, after receding more
than 11 percent over the previous nine trading days, amid high
global crude inventories and weak fuel demand.
U.S. government data may show Wednesday that crude stocks
in the United States, the world's top energy consumer, fell by
2 million barrels last week as refineries churned out more
fuel, according to a Reuters poll of analysts. []
The American Petroleum Institute (API) industry group will
report weekly U.S. inventory data later Tuesday, and the U.S.
Energy Information Administration will issue its more
authoritative weekly stock report early Wednesday.
A 10-day National Weather Service forecast late Monday
called for lower-than-normal temperatures in most of the
eastern United States, the world's biggest regional consumer of
heating oil.
More heating oil use could help further draw down crude
stocks, which stand around 7 percent higher than five-year
seasonal averages in the United States as a sluggish economic
recovery continues to cut into demand.
U.S. crude for January delivery <CLc1> rose $1.12 to $70.63
a barrel by 11:36 a.m. EST (1636 GMT). London Brent <LCOc1> was
up 57 cents to $72.46.
Increased industrial activity may help oil demand recover.
U.S. industrial production rose in November by 0.8 percent, the
Federal Reserve said Tuesday, or more than the 0.5 percent rise
that most economists were expecting. []
"There's a feeling we may see a drop in crude oil and
distillate stocks," said Peter Beutel, President of Cameron
Hanover in Connecticut.
"And higher industrial use could be bullish for oil."
The dollar hit a 2-1/2 month high against the euro on
Tuesday and rallied to a six-week high versus a basket of
foreign currencies. []
Oil prices rose in spite of the dollar gains. The greenback
typically has strengthened this year when investors shun
riskier assets such as oil.
OPEC, which pumps a third of the world's oil, slightly
raised its forecast for world oil demand growth in 2010 to
average 85.1 million bpd, up by 70,000 bpd from its forecast
last month. []
But OPEC may also boost crude production. Reuters
calculations showed the group's compliance with production
curbs to help support oil prices slipped to 58 percent in
November, down from 60 percent in October.
"It's not surprising that at current prices countries are
looking to rethink," said commodity analyst Eugen Weinberg at
Commerzbank.
Oil reached a 2009 high around $82 a barrel in late
October, after rising from below $33 a barrel last December.
Crude surged to a record above $147 a barrel last July before
plummeting, as major world economies sputtered.
(Additional reporting by Chris Baldwin in London, Robert
Gibbons in New York, and Jennifer Tan in Singapore; Editing by
Lisa Shumaker)
