* Oil shrugs off U.S. jobless claims data
* Ireland agrees to tackle debt crisis with EU-IMF
* U.S. inventories dented
(Updates prices, adds U.S. jobless claims data and quote)
By Isabel Coles
LONDON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Oil retraced part of a steep
four-session drop on Thursday as worries about Ireland's debt
crisis eased and a sharp crude inventory drawdown in top
consumer the United States encouraged investors.
Oil shrugged off U.S. data showing a small increase in
claims for unemployment benefits, with U.S. crude oil futures
<CLc1> up $1.37 to $81.82 at 1516 GMT and ICE Brent <LCOc1> up
$1.55 to $84.83.
Although initial jobless claims rose in line with
expectations, the four-week average of new jobless claims,
considered a better measure of underlying labor market trends,
dropped 4,000 to 443,000, the lowest level since the week to
Sept. 6, 2008. []
Dublin's agreement to work with a European Union-IMF mission
to shore up its troubled banking sector soothed investors'
worries, but oil's bounce was held in check by lingering jitters
over Irish debt.
"I think while the uncertainty's still there over whether
there's going to be a bailout or not there's going to be a lot
of fluctuation," said James Hughes, a strategist at CMC Markets.
The state of other euro zone countries' finances also
limited crude's gains.
"Even should Ireland be rescued, so to speak, the market
might shift its focus again to Greece and Portugal," said Eugen
Weinberg, an analyst at Commerzbank.
IRISH CENTRAL BANK
Concerns about the euro zone's fiscal health knocked about 8
percent off a 25-month high last week, sending oil to a low of
$80.06 on Wednesday, its weakest since Oct. 20.
Ireland's central bank chief said on Thursday he expected
the country to take tens of billions of euros in loans from
European partners and the IMF to tackle its debt woes.
[]
"For now the market seems to be increasingly relaxed that
measures are being put in place (in Ireland)" said Jim Reid, a
strategist at Deutsche Bank.
The euro rose too, on new-found optimism in the response to
Ireland's debt crisis, while the greenback slid about 7 percent
against a basket of currencies.
INVENTORIES
U.S. crude stockpiles dropped the most in more than 14
months last week, as fewer imports and higher refining rates
dented inventories, a weekly government report from the Energy
Information Administration showed on Wednesday. []
Inventories unexpectedly fell by 7.29 million barrels to
357.6 million barrels in the week to Nov. 12, while crude
imports fell 226,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 7.83 million bpd.
Stocks of oil products also fell, although more closely in
line with analyst expectations.
Gasoline fell by 2.66 million barrels, versus forecasts for
an 800,000-barrel draw, while distillate stocks declined 1.11
million barrels compared with a projected 2.2 million drop.
But crude inventories at the key Cushing, Oklahoma hub rose
1.27 million barrels to 33.07 million, depressing the value of
U.S. crude relative to European benchmark Brent.
Cushing is the delivery point for the New York Mercantile
Exchange's benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude
futures.
(Reporting by Isabel Coles in London and Alejandro Barbajosa
in Singapore; editing by Keiron Henderson)
