* Oil rises above $108 a barrel
* U.S. crude stocks forecast to fall
(Recasts, adds analyst, updates prices, previous PERTH)
LONDON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Oil briefly rose above $108 a
barrel on Wednesday, boosted by expectations of a sharp fall
U.S. fuel stocks due partly to disruptions from Hurricane Ike.
Concerns over U.S. supplies offset uncertainty about the
success of the U.S. government's $700 billion plan to rescue the
finance industry.
U.S. light crude for November delivery <CLc1> was $1.00 up
at $107.61 a barrel by 0919 GMT, after settling down $2.76 at
$106.61 on Tuesday.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> was 72 cents up at $$103.80 a
barrel.
"There could be some improved sentiment but I suspect people
are largely being cautious ahead of the release of the EIA data
and don't want to be caught short," said David Moore, a
commodities analyst at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Weekly U.S. government inventory data due later on Wednesday
are expected to show that crude stocks fell by 2 million
barrels, the fifth consecutive week of declines, due to
disruptions caused by Ike, according to a Reuters poll. []
Distillate stocks are forecast to have fallen by 1.5 million
barrels. Gasoline stocks are expected to have dropped by 4
million barrels, the ninth straight week of declines, as
Hurricane Ike forced the shut-down of Gulf Coast refineries.
Energy firms continued to work on restarting production,
refineries and pipelines after Hurricane Ike battered U.S. oil
infrastructure. Six oil refineries in Texas remained shut on
Tuesday due to the hurricane. []
For a Factbox, click on []
Oil had its biggest ever one-day gain of nearly $16 a barrel
on Monday, during the expiry of the October U.S. crude oil
contract. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is
reviewing the price jump to ensure trading was valid.
But prices have fallen back from a record peak of $147.27 a
barrel on July 11, pressured partly by falls in demand in the
United States, the world's top energy consumer.
Fears the crisis in the financial sector could tip the
global economy into recession has also weighed on the market.
These worries have not gone away despite the U.S.
government's $700 billion bailout plan.
"Key emerging markets for commodities like China are also
seeing strains," said Harry Tchilinguirian, analyst at BNP
Paribas.
Growth in oil demand from China, the world's second biggest
energy consumer, has played a big part in oil's six year rally.
"China faces a collapse in equity and property markets,
which adds further headwinds to its economy on top of slowing
demand for its manufactured products by advanced economies,"
Tchilinguirian said.
(Reporting by Jane Merriman in London and Fayen Wong in Perth)
