* Oil hits 2009 high above $58, aided by equity gains
* U.S. gasoline stocks down, crude up less than expected
* Market eyes bank stress test results
(Updates prices, recasts)
By Joe Brock
LONDON, May 7 (Reuters) - Oil rose towards $58 a barrel on
Thursday, hitting a fresh 2009 high, as a surge in global stock
markets raised expectations of economic improvement and a
subsequent increase in demand for oil products.
U.S. light crude for June delivery <CLc1> rose $1.55 cents a
barrel to $57.89 by 1024 GMT, off an earlier peak of $58.05,
oil's highest level since Nov. 17, 2008.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> rose $1.38 cents to $57.53.
"I think oil is looking at the whole picture, stocks are
doing well and economic signals are starting to look a bit
better," said Rob Montefusco, a trader at Sucden Financial.
However, Montefusco said oil's rally could be short-lived.
"I think it has managed to break the $55 technical level and
it is now jumping further but I don't see any fundamental
reasons for it to go higher."
Oil has tracked a recovery in the equity markets over the
past month, with the U.S. Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> up
some 36 percent from March lows and rising nearly 2 percent on
Wednesday after better-than-expected jobs data.
The market was watching for the results of the U.S.
government stress tests on the ability of banks to weather a
deep recession, to be released at 2100 GMT. []
Expectations for rising oil demand as summer approaches were
fuelled by leaks of the test results that suggested most banks
were healthier than earlier thought.
In equity markets, Japan's Nikkei average <> surged
4.55 percent after a three-day holiday in the country.
The buying continued in Europe as shares rose ahead of Bank
of England and ECB interest rate and policy decisions.
[]
U.S. crude inventories rose again, but by a
lower-than-expected 600,000 barrels against forecasts for a 2.2
million barrels build, while U.S. gasoline stocks fell last week
by 200,000 barrels to 212.4 million, the Energy Information
Administration said on Wednesday. []
A slowdown in U.S. private sector job losses in April, as
employers cut 491,000 from the salary rolls versus an expected
loss of 650,000, was seen as a signal that the economy may be on
its way to recovery, and helped oil higher. []
Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil supplier, said it would
not raise supplies for the time being as it attempts to shore up
prices.
The kingdom is pumping below 8 million barrels per day (bpd)
and is unlikely to increase that production as world supply
continues to outpace demand, Saudi Aramco Chief Executive Khalid
al-Falih said on Wednesday. []
(Editing by Anthony Barker)
