* Nigerian militants say Shell pipeline attacked
* Shell says pipeline junction point shut
* Oil to average $70 a barrel in 2010 - poll
* U.S. GDP shrinks slightly less in Q1 than first thought
(Updates prices, adds details)
By David Sheppard
LONDON, June 25 (Reuters) - Oil rose above $69 a barrel on
Thursday after Nigeria's main militant group shut down one of
Royal Dutch Shell's <RDSa.L> pipeline junction points,
heightening concerns about supplies from the region.
U.S. crude futures <CLc1> for August gained 77 cents to
$69.44 a barrel by 1426 GMT. London Brent crude <LCOc1> rose 85
cents to $69.18 a barrel.
In the latest in a string of attacks in Nigeria, Africa's
biggest oil producer, the Movement for the Emancipation of the
Niger Delta (MEND), said it had sabotaged the Billie-Krakama
pipeline in Rivers State, which supplies one of the country's
main export terminals. []
Attacks from MEND have forced foreign oil companies,
including U.S. oil major Chevron <CVX.N> and Italy's Agip
<ENI.MI>, to shut at least 133,000 barrels per day of oil
production in the last month. []
Shell said it had shut down one of its pipeline junction
points on Thursday but declined to say whether any oil
production had been affected.
Analysts said the effect on prices had been subdued with
plenty of spare supply capacity available around the world, as
the global recession has cut demand for oil.
"The Nigerian attacks have definitely been supportive, but
the impact is less in the current economic environment as
there's plenty of spare capacity in the oil industry right now,"
Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst at VTB Capital in London, said.
"When we were rallying towards $150 a barrel last summer a
small sneeze in Nigeria would send the market rallying at least
$2 a barrel. There's less of a geopolitical premium in prices
now."
Falling demand for oil sent oil prices crashing from record
highs close to $150 a barrel last July towards $30 a barrel at
the turn of the year. Since mid-April, however, prices have
risen sharply on prospects for an economic recovery.
A Reuters poll of industry analysts showed oil prices are
expected to average more than $70 a barrel in 2010, compared
with the latest forecast average of $56.59 for this year.
[]
RISING INVENTORIES
On Wednesday, U.S. government data showed stocks of gasoline
in the world's largest energy consumer rose 3.9 million barrels
last week, exceeding analysts' predictions. Stocks of
distillates -- such as diesel and heating oil -- have risen to
10-year highs due to the recession.
But prices took support from a large drop in stockpiles of
crude oil, which declined by 3.8 million barrels last week.
The U.S. economy shrank slightly less in early 2009 than
previously thought, the government reported on Thursday, though
there was widespread weakness in activity and demand was soft.
Gross domestic product dropped 5.5 percent in the first quarter,
from 6.3 percent in the last quarter of 2008.
Separately, the Labor Department said the number of workers
filing new claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last
week by 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 627,000 -- a measure of
the strain still faced by hard-pressed consumers.
Oil pulled back slightly falling the jobless claims report,
with the dollar strengthening as investors appetite for risk was
curbed. A stronger dollar makes commodities priced in the
greenback more expensive for holders of other currencies.
(Additional reporting by Ramthan Hussain in Singapore;
Editing by William Hardy)
