* European shares turn positive, U.S. seen opening higher
* U.S. house prices up; eyes on consumer data, oil stocks
* Analysts raise oil price consensus for 5th month
(Update prices)
By Ikuko Kurahone
LONDON, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Oil bounced above $74 on Tuesday,
recouping earlier losses in line with equity markets ahead of a
spate of U.S. economic data.
U.S. crude <CLc1> was 7 cents up at $74.44 a barrel by 1309
GMT, having fallen to as low as $73.41 earlier.
On Monday, it hit $74.81, the highest intraday price since
mid-October.
Brent crude <LCOc1> was down 42 cents at $73.84, trimming
its earlier drop by nearly $1.
"We continue to see the market track global markets to look
for some more green shoots," said Andrey Kryuchenkov, analyst at
VTB Capital in London. "At this moment, we are sitting in a
relatively small range. People are probably waiting for consumer
confidence data."
Investors will watch for U.S. consumer confidence data due
later on Tuesday for pointers on the health of the world's
biggest economy.
Ahead of the data, another set of the figures showed U.S.
home prices rose for a second straight month. []
Wall Street was set to open higher. Support also came from
Ben Bernanke's renomiation as chairman of the U.S. Federal
Reserve. [] []
European shares turned positive after falling earlier in the
day.
Falls in Asian shares, led by China, pressured oil prices
earlier in the day.
Commodities markets have closely tracked equities indexes in
recent months. Dealers view stocks as an indicator of economic
performance, which would boost or reduce energy and commodities
demand.
A Reuters survey of more than 30 analysts showed oil prices
would average above $73 next year.
The analysts raised their consensus forecast for the fifth
straight month, on expectations the strength of economic
improvement and higher fuel demand would spur a sustained oil
price rally. []
The oil market's focus will shift later to weekly U.S. oil
inventory data.
Analysts in a Reuters survey forecast a 900,000 barrel drop
in U.S. crude inventories. Gasoline inventories were forecast to
fall, while middle distillate stocks, including heating oil,
were seen increasing.
Last week, U.S. crude stocks posted a big fall, as refiners
boosted operations and imports dropped sharply to hit their
lowest level in 11 months, U.S. Energy Information
Administration data showed. []
Data from the American Petroleum Institute will be released
at 2030 GMT on Tuesday, and the equivalent U.S. government data
is due out on Wednesday.
(Additional reporting by Ramthan Hussain in Singapore; editing
by William Hardy)
