* Cushing stockpiles climb for eighth straight week -EIA
* Brent premium over WTI tops $6 first time in 15 months
* Coming Up: U.S. weekly jobless claims; 1230 GMT
* For a technical view on oil prices, click:
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(Adds front-mont Brent vs WTI graphic, updates prices)
By Alejandro Barbajosa
SINGAPORE, May 13 (Reuters) - Oil was steady on Thursday,
with European marker Brent holding above $81 and Americas
benchmark WTI near 12-week lows, as rising stock markets in
Asia offset soaring crude stockpiles in the U.S. Midwest.
Optimism that the eurozone will contain Greece's debt
crisis and a weaker dollar countered pressure on oil prices
from record crude inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma, pricing
point for U.S. oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate, where
supplies rose for an eighth straight week, the latest data
showed.
Spain outlined measures to reduce its deficit on Wednesday,
including pay and job cuts in the public sector, helping boost
Japan's Nikkei equity index by more than 2 percent on Thursday,
led by shares of information services company CSK Holdings.
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The premium of front-month Brent to WTI on Thursday
exceeded $6 a barrel for the first time in 15 months. U.S.
crude for June delivery <CLc1> rose 10 cents to $75.75 a barrel
at 0705 GMT, while the July contract gained 39 cent to $80.54
and ICE Brent for June <LCOc1> rose 41 cents to $81.61.
"This market is well supported above $75 because of
developments in financial markets," said Ken Hasegawa, a
commodity derivatives manager at brokerage Newedge in Japan.
"We see some increases in the stock markets in Asia and
that helps lift prices to the upside despite high inventories
in the U.S., especially in Cushing."
For a graphic on the premium of Brent to WTI:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/CT_20101305150135.jpg
Total crude inventories in top consumer the United States
rose slightly more than forecast last week on lower crude runs
by refiners curtailing operations, adding 1.9 million barrels,
government statistics from the Energy Information
Administration showed on Wednesday.
Stockpiles Cushing extended record-high levels after an
increase of 800,000 barrels sent supplies to 37 million barrels
last week. Capacity at Cushing is currently at least 53 million
barrels, according to Reuters estimates. []
Inventories of distillate fuels including heating oil and
diesel gained 1.4 million barrels. But gasoline stockpiles
unexpectedly fell by 2.8 million barrels.
This helped prices rebound from Wednesday's lows, when
prices dipped close to last Friday's intraday low of $74.51 as
the European crisis roiled financial markets. That came just
four days after prices touched $87.15, the highest in almost 19
months.
"It's mid-term expectations that have kept prices in a
range between $75 and $85," Hasegawa said. "The July WTI
contract is around $80, just at the centre level of that range,
which is very good for both producing and consuming countries."
The widening discount for front-month WTI crude futures to
second-month barrels traded on the New York Mercantile
Exchange, at its highest level since February 2009 on
Wednesday, prompted concerns of a return of the
"supercontangos" seen in early 2009 when the spread topped $8 a
barrel. []
Crude futures for June delivery <CLc1> traded at a discount
of close to $5 a barrel to July crude <CLc2> at some points
during Wednesday's trading session. Cushing stockpiles rose for
an eighth consecutive week.
Storage utilisation rates were at about 70 percent in the
week through May 7, using Reuters capacity estimates. Cushing
tanks can typically only hold 80 to 90 percent of their total
capacity, experts say, due to safety and blending requirements.
Global oil demand growth in 2010 will be slightly slower
than previously expected, the International Energy Agency (IEA)
said on Wednesday.
(Editing by Ed Lane)
