* U.S. crude, product stocks rise
* IMF cuts global growth forecast
* Goldman raises China GDP growth forecast
(Updates throughout)
By Matthew Robinson
NEW YORK, April 22 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Wednesday
as gains in the stock market outweighed rising inventories in
top consumer the United States.
U.S. crude <CLc1> settled up 30 cents at $48.85 a barrel,
after trading down to $47.70 earlier. London Brent crude
<LCOc1> settled 1 cent lower at $49.81 a barrel.
Oil rebounded in late activity as the U.S. stocks got a
boost after several corporate executives gave positive
outlooks, easing recession concerns. []
"The oil market refuses to go lower despite terrible
inventory data," said Tom Bentz, analyst at BNP Paribas
Commodity Futures Inc. "This has been the case for months. And
the stock market is still holding."
The slumping economy has sapped demand and dragged crude
off record highs over $147 a barrel in July, causing
inventories to swell.
U.S. crude stockpiles jumped by 3.9 million barrels last
week -- above analysts' expectations -- to hit a fresh 19-year
high, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Product inventories showed a surprise build. []
"The market is pretty well supplied," said Amanda
Kurzendoerfer, commodities analyst for Summit Energy. "It seems
like we keep getting confirmation of that week after week."
In addition, oil stored at sea by companies has risen to
100 million barrels, the highest level in recent times,
according to Frontline <FRO.OL>, one of the world's biggest
independent oil tanker owners. []
Early pressure on crude came after the International
Monetary Fund predicted the global economy will shrink by 1.3
percent in 2009. In January, the organization had forecast
global growth of 0.5 percent this year. []
"Arguably the biggest uncertainty in the oil market at the
moment is the economy," Lawrence Eagles, oil analyst at JP
Morgan, said in a research note.
"But even assuming a tentative second-half 2009 recovery,
some of the latest bleak demand data suggest that without a
further OPEC cut, we may not see a significant stock draw until
the fourth quarter of 2009."
Further support for crude prices came after China's central
bank on Wednesday said the economy of the world's No. 2 oil
consumer is on the road to recovery. Goldman Sachs raised its
forecast for China GDP growth this year to 8.3 percent from 6.0
percent on the back of aggressive government efforts to boost
investment. []
Top Libyan oil official Shokri Ghanem said OPEC is worried
about oversupply in the oil market and wants members to comply
fully with their output targets. []
The cartel last year agreed to a series of production cuts
to help support crude oil prices. A handful of OPEC members --
Iran, Angola, Nigeria, Venezuela and Ecuador -- were still
pumping significantly more than their targets in March,
according to a Reuters survey. []
(Additional reporting by Gene Ramos and Robert Gibbons in New
York, Jane Merriman in London and Baizhen Chua in Singapore;
Editing by David Gregorio)
