* China, Japan, S.Korea March crude imports down
* U.S. API posts unexpected fall in crude stockpiles
* Goldman raises China '09 GDP growth forecast to 8.3 pct
By Chua Baizhen
SINGAPORE, April 22 (Reuters) - Oil dipped towards $48 a
barrel on Wednesday as data showing weak demand from major
Asian consumers more than offset the euphoria over Wall Street
gains and an unexpected fall in U.S. crude stockpiles.
The American Petroleum Institute numbers released after the
close of trade on Tuesday showed a fall in U.S. crude
stockpiles last week of 1 million barrels, raising some hopes
that Energy Information Administration data on Wednesday could
break the pattern of large stock builds.
But demand for oil remains weak, with data from China,
Japan and South Korea underscoring this trend, giving few
reasons for traders to buy crude as prices neared the $50
resistance level.
U.S. crude for June delivery <CLc1> fell 30 cents to $48.25
a barrel at 0711 GMT, while London Brent crude <LCOc1> fell 17
cents to $49.65.
Oil has fallen around $100 a barrel since the record above
$147 hit in July last year, but has risen more than 40 percent
since mid-February, partly because of signs of compliance by
OPEC members over their agreed supply cuts.
"The mood in the oil market is not good. It's very tough
for prices to go higher," said Ken Hasegawa, commodity sales
manager with broker Newedge in Tokyo.
Oil has been trading in a narrow band, with few convincing
signs of a sustained demand recovery within sight.
"At $45, it's fairly easy to make a long position. So it is
a support level. On the other hand, at the moment nobody wants
to buy at $50," he said, adding that some traders were taking
positions, with expectations that prices would end the year in
the range of $60-$70 a barrel.
Comments from U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner that
most U.S. banks have adequate capital had soothed nerves that
had been battered by a larger-than-expected writedown by
America's largest bank on Monday, which sent oil down 9
percent.
Oil data for major Asian economies released on Wednesday
showed crude imports for China fell 5.5 percent, Japan imported
18.4 percent less crude based on preliminary data, and South
Korean imports fell 15 percent.
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But giving support to sentiment, a senior Chinese central
bank official said on Wednesday the world's number three
economy had hit the bottom in the final three months of 2008
and had showed positive signs of recovery in the first quarter.
This contrasts with a European Central Bank official's
comments that the global economy was still in the midst of a
sharp downturn, which came at a time of mixed signals from
corporate results in the United States and elsewhere.
[]
Goldman Sachs on Wednesday raised its forecast for China's
GDP growth this year to 8.3 percent from 6.0 percent, crediting
the government's aggressive policy easing and better than
expected results from its stimulus spending. []
Traders will be watching the EIA oil inventory data due
later in the day. []
Analysts polled by Reuters before the API numbers came out
said U.S. crude inventories likely rose for the seventh
straight time last week, with the stockpiles seen at their
highest in nearly 19 years.
(Editing by Sambit Mohanty)
