* Oil prices shrug off gains in Asian stock markets
* Coming Up: U.S. weekly initial jobless claims; 1230 GMT
* For a technical view, click: []
(Adds currency correlation graphic, updates prices)
By Alejandro Barbajosa
SINGAPORE, Aug. 5 (Reuters) - Oil fell for a second day on
Thursday, approaching $82, as dollar strength kept a lid on
prices, neutralising the effect of upbeat U.S. employment data
and a drop in the nation's crude inventories last week.
At the same time, U.S. stockpiles of gasoline and
distillate fuels, including diesel, extended a string of gains,
contributing to a mixed perception about the outlook for oil
demand from the world's top consuming nation for the rest of
the year.
U.S. crude for September <CLc1> fell 29 cents to $82.18 a
barrel by 0649 GMT, having touched a three-month intraday high
of $82.97 on Wednesday. ICE Brent <LCOc1> shed 27 cents to
$81.93.
U.S. private employers added more jobs than expected in
July after an upwardly revised gain in June, payrolls processor
ADP Employer Services said on Wednesday, ahead of reports for
weekly jobless claims on Thursday and July non-farm payrolls on
Friday. []
"Investors are more concerned over the rise in gasoline
inventories versus the drawdown in crude," said Serene Lim, a
Singapore-based oil analyst at ANZ.
"That outweighed the better-than-expected U.S. economic
data. Also, the dollar has an inverse relation with oil
prices."
Oil reacted to the stronger U.S. currency, shrugging off
the effect of rising equities in Asia. The greenback rose 0.25
percent against a basket of currencies on Thursday, extending
the gains of the previous day. <.DXY>
A stronger dollar renders oil imports more expensive for
Asian consumers including Asia-Pacific's top five -- Indonesia,
South Korea, India, Japan and China -- which combined use about
the same amount of oil as the United States.
For a graphic of oil's returning currency correlation,
click:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/ABE_20100408121347.jpg
PAST THE $80 HURDLE
Oil surpassed $80 a barrel for the first time since early
May this week after being stuck in the mid $70s for almost two
months.
"The oil market may not yet have fully shrugged off the
intense degree of macroeconomic pessimism that kept prices
below $80 for most of second quarter, but it is perhaps now
starting to put that pessimism into more of a context and make
it less of a dominating shadow in terms of price formation,"
Barclays Capital analysts said in a weekly report dated Aug. 4
The vast service sectors in the U.S. and euro zone both
grew last month, reports showed on Wednesday, easing some
worries about a severe slowdown in the global economic
recovery. []
But the positive economic data has yet to be reflected in
U.S. fuel inventories, which have been rising for most of the
northern hemisphere summer, when gasoline demand peaks and
inventories of the fuel usually fall.
The Energy Information Administration on Wednesday said the
country's gasoline stocks rose for an unexpected sixth
consecutive week, by 729,000 barrels, and supplies of
distillate fuel including diesel climbed for a tenth, by 2.8
million.
The government statistics also showed U.S. crude stockpiles
slumped 2.8 million barrels last week after Tropical Storm
Bonnie caused delays to oil shipments and production.
Asian stocks edged higher on Thursday after solid corporate
earnings, including from Toyota Motor and chipmaker UMC, and
the strong U.S. economic data that lifted the beaten-down
dollar. []
Saudi Arabia cut the official selling prices (OSPs) of
benchmark Arab Light crude oil and most other grades to Asia,
the United States and Europe in September, state-run oil
company Saudi Aramco said on Wednesday. []
BP Plc <BP.L><BP.N> said on Wednesday it was close to
subduing its ruptured Gulf of Mexico oil well, and the White
House hailed the "beginning of the end" of efforts to contain
the worst spill in U.S. history. []
(Editing by Ed Lane)
