* China implied oil use jumps 12 pct to record 8.92 mln bpd
* U.S. crude stocks, distillates fall sharply -EIA
* Coming Up: OPEC monthly oil market report; 1130 GMT
(Changes dateline to LONDON, updates throughout)
By Emma Farge
LONDON, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Oil climbed to 25-month highs
above $88 a barrel on Thursday after strong industrial ouptut
boosted Chinese demand to a record high and fuel stocks in the
world's top oil consumer the United States fell sharply.
U.S. crude for December <CLc1> rose 51 cents to $88.32 a
barrel by 1040 GMT, after earlier touching $88.55, its highest
since October 2008. ICE Brent <LCOc1> rose 34 cents to $89.30 a
barrel after touching more than a two-year high earlier.
China's industrial production grew 13.1 percent in October
from a year earlier, sending oil use in the world's second
biggest consumer to a record 8.92 million barrels per day (bpd).
[] []
Crude inventories in the U.S. unexpectedly fell last week,
while declines in fuel stockpiles exceeded forecasts, government
data showed on Wednesday. []
"There was a downwards draw in stocks in the United States
and in countries like China there seems to be much better
demand," said Christoper Bellew, a broker at Bache Commodities,
adding, "I don't think it's the feeding frenzy we had in 2008
but we are possibly in a range between $80-$95 a barrel."
The market shrugged off a stronger dollar on Thursday and
weaker equities in a sign that the market is once again focusing
on its own fundamentals of supply and demand. [] <.DXY>
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ABOVE $90?
Oil prices are on course to have risen in eight of the last
nine sesssions, pushing them further above a previous range of
$70-$80 a barrel where they have mostly traded for a year.
"We think prices are on their way for a test of the $90
mark, at least in the Brent market," said Stefan Graber, a
commodities analyst with Credit Suisse in Singapore.
Other traders and analysts also expected a breach of $90 a
barrel but did not expect the rally to push prices as far as
$100 a barrel.
"I think you'll probably touch $90 maybe break above it and
then it should slow down and then come off a little bit," said
Andrey Kryuchenkov, commodities strategist at VTB Capital.
An Energy Information Administration (EIA) government
report on Wednesday showed a 3.3 million-barrel drawdown in U.S.
crude inventories last week, compared with forecasts for a 1.4
million-barrel gain.
Stocks of distillates including diesel and heating oil
dropped by 4.97 million barrels, led by a 16 percent gain in
distillate demand over the past four weeks compared with
year-ago levels.
U.S. economic growth showed more tentative signs of
improving on Wednesday as jobless benefit claims hit a
four-month low last week and the international trade gap
narrowed in September. []
(Additional reporting by Isabel Coles and Alejandro
Barbajosa in Singapore; editing by Keiron Henderson)
