(Recasts, updates prices, adds quote)
By Maryelle Demongeot
LONDON, April 10 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell from near
record highs on Thursday after Saudi oil minister Ali al-Naimi
said markets were well supplied, shrugging off falls in U.S.
crude and fuel stocks and bullish Chinese economic data.
U.S. crude <CLc1> was down 67 cents to $110.20 a barrel by
1409 GMT, having earlier risen to within one cent of the $112.21
record hit in the previous session.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> was down 40 cents at $108.07 a
barrel, having earlier set a new record at $109.98.
"The market rallied on the weak dollar and Nigerian problems
overnight, but Saudi talk of a market well supplied may have
capped it," said Tom Bentz, analyst at BNP Paribas Commodities
Futures Inc.
Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi told reporters in Paris the
market was still well supplied and record prices were not due to
any lack of oil.
"I am not going to pull back. I'm not going to dump crude on
the market," Naimi said when asked whether Saudi Arabia might
change its output.
Despite pleas by consuming nations for OPEC to raise oil
production to help cap rising oil prices, its members insist the
markets remain well supplied.
In Nigeria, liftings of Qua Iboe crude oil are expected to
be delayed for the second month in a row, traders said on
Thursday. []
The dollar fell to a record low against the euro on
Thursday, but pared losses as European Central Bank President
Jean-Claude Trichet did not drastically change his growth and
inflation views for the euro zone. []
Inventory data from the United States, the world's largest
oil consumer, pushed prices up to new records on Wednesday after
it showed U.S. crude oil inventories fell 3.2 million barrels,
countering earlier expectations for a build.
Gasoline and distillate stocks also fell by more than had
been forecast. []
Adding to the bullish brew earlier on Thursday, China
revised up its 2007 GDP growth by 0.5 percent points to 11.9
percent and its currency traded at its strongest level against
the dollar in over a decade, underlining China's growing
economic power and implying undimmed oil demand. []
"The crude drop yesterday was a surprise. That is real
fundamentals", said Tony Nunan, risk management executive at
Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Corp..
"The Chinese data is bullish. There has not been any clear
sign yet that Chinese demand has been hit by the troubles in the
U.S.", he said when asked about the significance of the latest
data.
The acceleration in China's currency strength is partly due
to the dollar's weakness in global markets, which has also
helped propel oil prices to successive record highs this year.
[]
(Additional reporting by Luke Pachymuthu in Singapore,
Editing by Margaret Orgill)
(maryelle.demongeot@reuters.com; +44 20 7542 7646; Reuters
Messaging: maryelle.demongeot.reuters.com@reuters.net))
