* Oil touches $86.97, continues 6-day rally
* Prices post steepest climb of 2010 on recovery optimism
* Coming Up: U.S. oil inventory reports from API and EIA
(Updates prices, adds comment)
By Chris Baldwin
LONDON, April 6 (Reuters) - Oil rose to a fresh 18-month
high on Tuesday, rallying for a sixth consecutive session as
investors awaited oil inventory data out of the United States.
U.S. crude for May delivery <CLc1> was up 32 cents to $86.94
a barrel by 1345 GMT, down from an intraday peak of $86.97, the
highest since October 2008.
ICE Brent <LCOc1> rose 28 cents to $86.16.
"The trading today is very technical, and it's going against
the dollar," said independent oil analyst Olivier Jakob at
Petromatrix in Switzerland.
"We're starting to come to a point where these oil prices
could start to put the economic recovery at risk. Whatever we
had last year was at an average $62 a barrel. It's another thing
to continue on the recovery path with $90."
The dollar gained nearly 0.6 percent against a basket of
currencies and traders turned bearish against the euro following
reports Greece would seek $5-$10 billion from U.S. investors to
help cover its May borrowing requirements. []
A stronger dollar makes purchases of dollar-denominated
commodities more expensive for non-U.S. buyers.
Also buoying the dollar was data on Monday showing U.S.
services sector grew at its swiftest in nearly four years in
March and an unexpected rise in future home sales in February,
which bolstered hopes for a sustainable economic recovery and
job growth. []
INVENTORY DATA
Oil market attention will shift to inventory statistics due
later on Tuesday from the American Petroleum Institute (API),
and on Wednesday from the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy
Information Administration (EIA).
On Monday the EIA said U.S. gasoline prices rose to $2.88 a
gallon in the last week, the highest since October 2008.
"The recent spike can be largely put down to rising crude
oil prices. Compared to other products, gasoline demand is quite
price-sensitive, illustrated by the fact that it was the only
major oil product to show growth on a global basis last year,"
analyst David Wech at JBC Energy wrote in a note to investors.
Crude inventories in the United States, the world's largest
energy consumer, probably gained for a 10th consecutive
seven-day period of measurement in the U.S. last week, a Reuters
survey showed. []
Crude stockpiles were forecast to have risen 1.7 million
barrels, according to a Reuters poll, while a 1.4 million
drawdown was expected in both gasoline supplies and distillate
stocks, comprising heating oil and diesel. []
The American Petroleum Institute releases its industry
report on Tuesday, at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT), followed by
government figures from the U.S. Energy Information
Administration on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. EDT.
(Additional reporting by Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore;
editing by James Jukwey)
