* EIA: U.S. gasoline stocks up, hit 20-year high
* EIA: U.S. crude stocks rise less than expected
* Dollar, Egypt unrest support Brent above $100
* Coming up: OPEC, IEA monthly oil reports Thursday
(Updates with market activity)
By Gene Ramos
NEW YORK, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Brent crude jumped nearly 2
percent to near $102 a barrel on Wednesday as the dollar fell
and unrest in Egypt stoked supply worries, while high
inventories pushed down U.S. crude and widened the spread
between the two contracts to record levels.
U.S. government data showed domestic crude inventories rose
1.9 million barrels last week to 345.1 million barrels, less
than analyst expectations for a rise of 2.4 million barrels,
while gasoline inventories hit a 20-year high. []
The inventory builds helped push Brent's premium over the
U.S. crude futures to a fresh record above $15 a barrel,
surpassing the previous high of $13.06 hit on Tuesday.
<CL-LCO1=R>
In London, ICE March Brent <LCOH1> settled $1.90 higher at
$101.82 a barrel, after posting the day's high at $102.25.
U.S. crude for March delivery <CLH1> ended 23 cents lower
at $86.71 a barrel, off its session low of $86.36.
"Brent has strengthened further as there is a re-escalation
of the tensions in Egypt," said Rachel Ziemba, senior analyst
at Roubini Global Economics in London.
Further support for Brent came as the U.S. dollar fell
against the euro after a strong sale of U.S. Treasury debt and
as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the job market
remains sluggish, reinforcing expectations the Fed would push
ahead with a bond-buying program to stimulate the economy.
[] []
A cheaper dollar makes oil and other commodities
denominated in the currency more attractive to non-dollar
traders.
In Egypt, protest organizers were working on a plan to move
on to the state radio and television building on Friday, the
day of the next big scheduled demonstration demanding that
President Hosni Mubarak step down. []
The protests have stirred concerns about oil supplies due
to the possibility that unrest could spread to oil producing
countries in the Middle East, although the shipments through
the Suez Canal have not been affected.
HIGH INVENTORIES
Weekly U.S. inventory data spurred the bearish tone for
U.S. oil futures, with a report from the U.S. Energy
Information Administration showing gasoline stocks in the week
to Feb. 4 hitting 240.9 million barrels, the highest level
since March 16, 1990. []
Distillate stocks, which include heating oil and diesel
fuel, also rose, against expectations of a drawdown.
The builds came as gasoline demand over the past four weeks
fell by 0.3 percent compared with a year ago, while distillate
demand was off 0.1 percent.
[]
"Overall, this data is bearish and the entire U.S. energy
market is fundamentally weak," said Bill O'Grady, chief
investment strategist at Confluence Investment Management in
St. Louis, Missouri.
(Additional reporting by Robert Gibbons in New York, Ikuko
Kurahone in London and Seng Li Ping in Singapore; Editing by
Walter Bagley and Marguerita Choy)
