* Oil recovers above $43 after 10 pct fall in 2 sessions
* Bearish builds in U.S. crude and distillates stocks weigh
* China loan growth strong, refinery runs pick up speed
* OPEC meeting may focus more on compliance than on new cuts
(Updates throughout, recasts, previous SINGAPORE)
By Joe Brock
LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) - Oil rose above $43 a barrel on
Thursday after falling more than $3 in the last two sessions on
the back of U.S. data showing a further build in fuel stocks.
Ministers of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries meet in Vienna on Sunday where the focus could be on
enforcing current bold supply cuts rather than agreeing to new
output targets.
U.S. light crude for April delivery <CLc1> rose 82 cents to
$43.15 a barrel by 1120 GMT after falling more than 7 percent on
Wednesday, when a bigger than expected U.S. crude oil build and
a slump in Chinese imports triggered a wave of selling.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> gained 87 cents to $42.27.
"If they (OPEC) do make further cutbacks it could have a
supportive role but crude is stuck in a range broadly between
$40 and $50 and we're at the bottom end of that range right
now," said Tony Machacek at Bache Commodities.
Machacek added: "Economic doom and gloom is very much having
an overall negative impact on oil prices right now.
The latest figures from China showed industrial output
growth ground almost to a standstill at the start of the year,
but data showing a continued surge in bank lending in February
fed optimism that activity could soon rebound. []
Showing similarly mixed signals, China's daily refinery
output fell 2.3 percent in February from a year ago, but
production improved after January's steep 9.4 percent drop, and
hit a four-month high. []
OPEC
Demand issues have moved to the front as the global economic
recession has slowed consumption and sent oil prices off peaks
over $147 a barrel hit in July, prompting OPEC to cut supplies
by 4.2 million barrels per day since September.
Some members are calling for another output cut and others
insisting greater compliance with current agreements is needed.
Saudi Arabia, the biggest and most influential of the
12-member group, is among those that believe it is too soon to
agree new output targets, sources have said. []
Signs of still slow demand in the U.S. sent prices down 7
percent on Wednesday after weekly stocks data by the U.S. Energy
Information Administration (EIA) showed a larger-than-expected
700,000 barrel build in crude inventories together with a large
2.1 million barrel rise in distillates stocks.
"Heating oil stocks posted a second counter-seasonal rise.
Diesel stocks are still building, reflecting underlying weakness
in the economy," French bank BNP Paribas said in its U.S. weekly
statistics comment report.
The market downplayed a bullish 3 million barrel draw in
gasoline stocks as demand for the product was off on the week,
even though demand for the past four weeks was at 9.02 million
barrels per day, up 1.6 percent from a year ago.
The data, coming after the EIA revised down its demand
forecast for the 11th time in 14 monthly reports, compounded the
bearish sentiment after Chinese customs data showed a large 15
percent fall in crude imports in February.
(Additional reporting by Maryelle Demongeot in Singapore;
Editing by James Jukwey)
