* Brent's premium to U.S. crude record high above $13
* Egypt's turmoil persists, but Suez Canal stays open
* EIA data may show rise in crude stocks vs drop in API
(Recasts, previous SINGAPORE)
By Ikuko Kurahone
LONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Oil edged up on Wednesday, with
North Sea Brent topping $100 again, due to market jitters over
possible supply constraints stemming from unrest in Egypt and
after data a day earlier showed a drop in U.S. stockpiles.
The upside, however, could be limited by China's rate hike
on Tuesday and ahead of the release of U.S. government weekly
oil data later on Wednesday, which may reveal record high crude
stockpiles at the delivery point for U.S. crude, analysts said.
North Sea Brent crude futures <LCOc1> traded 71 cents higher
at $100.63 compared with Tuesday's close of $99.92. U.S. crude
<CLc1> rose 34 cents to $87.26 by 1046 GMT.
Brent crude traded at a record high premium of $13.39 a
barrel to U.S. crude by the same time. <CL-LCO1=R>
"Brent is still reflecting the market concern about Egypt
and the Suez Canal. Oil supply to Europe via the canal would
have more impact than (any supplies to) the U.S.," Tony Nunan,
assistant general manager with Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo, said.
The massive protest in Egypt insisting President Hosni
Mubarak step down immediately continued on Wednesday. The market
was nervous about its impact on the operation of the Suez Canal.
The canal was operating normally on Tuesday despite strike
action by 3,000 workers in companies owned by the Suez Canal
authorities in Ismailia and Suez over pay and conditions.
[] []
CUSHING INVENTORIES EYED
Olivier Jakob with Petromatrix said weekly data from the
industry group American Petroleum Institute (API), which showed
a surprise decline in U.S. crude inventories on Tuesday, was
pushing oil prices higher for now.
But Jakob and analysts with Mizuho Corporate Bank said a
rise in oil prices might be limited by swelling crude
inventories and a long-term impact on oil demand after China's
two rate hikes in a month.
"Caution about a slowdown in demand in China due to the rate
hikes is strong (in the oil market). It is difficult to see
development, where the oil market would keep on targeting higher
prices aggressively," the bank said in its daily note.
The U.S. government's Energy Information Administration data
due out at 1530 GMT will be closely watched. Analysts in a
Reuters poll forecast the opposite to the API data.
The poll, which was taken before the industry and the
government data releases, shows the EIA would report a 2.4
million barrel rise in U.S. crude stocks in the week to Feb. 4.
Crude stocks at the delivery point at Cushing, Oklahoma, may
surge to a record high. []
SUPPORTS
Analysts pointed out glitches at some refineries in the
United States, the world's top gasoline market, and the shutdown
of the Poseidon oil pipeline in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico would
lend the floor to the oil prices.
Poseidon handles about one eighth of Gulf oil output, market
sources said on Tuesday. [] []
The fall in some North Sea oil streams would provide
additional support to Brent futures. []
"Constraints in North Sea supplies will continue to cause
the spread between the two benchmarks to be quite wide," said
Ben Westmore, analyst at National Australia Bank based in
Melbourne.
(Reporting by Seng Li Ping in Singapore and Ikuko Kurahone in
London; Editing by Alison Birrane)
