* Oil recoups some losses after five days of declines
* API data shows surprise decrease in U.S. crude stocks
* Eyes on EIA inventory data at 1530 GMT
* Reuters poll [] points to rise in U.S. crude stocks
(Updates prices, detail)
By Christopher Johnson
LONDON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Oil rose to around $73 a barrel on
Wednesday, rallying after several days of falls on industry data
showing a big drop in U.S. crude stocks and on a weaker U.S.
dollar <.DXY>.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) said in a report late
on Tuesday that crude inventories in the world's top oil
consumer fell 5.8 million barrels last week, bucking
expectations for a rise, as refiners boosted fuel production.
The market awaited more data on U.S. oil stocks from a
weekly Energy Information Administration (EIA) report due at
1530 GMT. A Reuters poll ahead of the EIA data forecast it would
show a 600,000-barrel rise in U.S. crude oil stocks.
U.S. crude <CLc1> for January delivery was up 30 cents per
barrel at $72.92 by 1416 GMT, having hit an earlier high of
$73.87. The contract fell $1.31 on Tuesday.
NYMEX crude, which hit its lowest level since late November
at $72.43 on Monday, has lost more than 7 percent this month.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> gained 10 cents to $75.29.
Losses over the last five days have been partly driven by a
recovery in the dollar. Oil is priced in dollars so a rise in
the currency makes fuel more expensive to most consumers outside
the United States.
The dollar <=USD> index against major currencies <.DXY> was
down around 0.3 percent by 1405 GMT.
For a graphic showing the oil and dollar, see:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/129/CMD_OIL$CR1209.gif
"NO SERIOUS COLLAPSE"
David Wech, head of energy studies at JBC Energy in Vienna,
said the oil market was looking out for Wednesday's EIA figures,
which could help push the market to lower levels if they were
very bearish.
"The market could clearly go down further -- $70 per barrel
could be tested or even broken," he said. "But we don't expect a
serious collapse in prices."
The oil market received some support from comments by two
oil ministers, who said the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries should not raise its oil output targets when
it meets later this month. []
The group, which pumps more than a third of the world's oil,
meets in the Angolan capital of Luanda on Dec. 22 and many OPEC
ministers see the current oil price range of $70-$80 as fair.
"The market is reasonably stable, so no, I don't think so,"
Nigeria's minister of state for petroleum, Odein Ajumogobia,
said on the sidelines of a meeting of gas exporting nations when
asked if OPEC needed to pump more oil.
The API data on Tuesday showed U.S. gasoline inventories
fell by 753,000 barrels, while distillates, which include
heating oil and diesel, rose by 1 million barrels.
However, the API said crude stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma, the
delivery point for U.S. oil futures, rose 1.5 million barrels,
helping to depress the price of front-month crude futures, and
creating the deepest front-month discounts since August.
For a graphic showing steepening of the forward curve,
click:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/129/CMD_NYOIL21209.gif
Analysts say they expect the contango to deepen further over
the next few weeks and see no return to backwardation until well
into 2010 as U.S. oil demand stays relatively weak.
(Editing by James Jukwey)
