* U.S. oil inventories seen falling on Ike disruptions
* OPEC Sept. supply seen down 800,000 bpd
* Stocks rise, uncertainty over U.S. bailout plan continues
(Updates prices)
By Jane Merriman and Matthew Robinson
LONDON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Oil rose more than $2 to around
$109 a barrel on Wednesday as concerns about U.S. fuel supply
and signs OPEC cut output in September outweighed doubts about
the U.S. government's plan to rescue the finance industry.
U.S. crude <CLc1> was up $1.79 to $108.40 a barrel by 1342
GMT, while London Brent crude <LCOc1> gained $1.80 to trade at
$104.88 a barrel.
Weekly U.S. government inventory data due later on Wednesday
is expected to show that crude stocks fell by 2 million barrels
-- the fifth consecutive week of declines -- due to disruptions
caused by Hurricane Ike, according to a Reuters poll. []
"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.
Energy firms continued efforts to restart production at
refineries and pipelines after Ike battered U.S. oil
infrastructure earlier this month. Six oil refineries in Texas
remained shut on Tuesday due to the hurricane. []
The disruptions have also drawn down fuel stockpiles, with
analysts forecasting data will show a 1.5 million barrel drop in
distillate stocks. Gasoline stocks are expected to have dropped
by 4 million barrels as Hurricane Ike forced the shut-down of
Gulf Coast refineries.
OPEC OUTPUT
Prices drew further support came from a report by
Petrologistics that OPEC oil supply fell by 800,000 barrels per
day (bpd) in September due to lower output from members
including Saudi Arabia and Iran. []
The estimate suggests OPEC was starting to cut back supplies
to levels seen in July even before it agreed on Sept. 10 to trim
output to official targets to prop up prices.
"I think the Petrologistic numbers had an impact," said
Olivier Jakob, analyst for Petromatrix.
Oil prices have dropped from a record peak above $147 a
barrel in July as high fuel prices and mounting economic
problems began to curb demand in the United States and other top
consumers.
Fears the crisis in the financial sector could tip the
global economy into recession have also weighed on oil and other
markets.
U.S. shares moved higher <> after Warren Buffett's $5
billion investment in Goldman Sachs <GS.N> buoyed sentiment in
the financial sector. Although markets remain nervous over the
success of the U.S. government's $700 billion bank bailout
scheme. []
Analysts are also trying to gauge whether the financial
crisis could begin to hit oil demand in emerging economies like
China -- where booming consumption helped ignite a six-year
rally in commodities.
"Key emerging markets for commodities like China are also
seeing strains," said Harry Tchilinguirian, analyst at BNP
Paribas. "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.
(Additional reporting by Fayen Wong in Perth, editing by
Anthony Barker)
