(Updates, recasts headline)
By Bate Felix and Maryelle Demongeot
LONDON, April 9 (Reuters) - Oil climb above $109 on
Wednesday, ahead of the release of weekly U.S. stocks data that
is expected to show lower gasoline inventories ahead of the high
demand season.
U.S. crude futures <CLc1> were up 50 cents at $109 a barrel
by 13:50 GMT, having touched a high of $109.10, after the market
fell on Tuesday amid profit-taking and a stronger dollar.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> was up 26 cents at $106.60.
"We have inventories data coming out later, so things are
going to be a little bit quite until then," said Simon Wardell
of Global Insight.
"I am presuming another big crude stock build, but products
seems to be more important at the moment especially with the
refinary outages," he added.
A Reuters poll on stocks data due out later in the day
showed an average forecast for a 1.4 million barrel decline in
distillate stocks (including heating oil and diesel) and a 2.5
million barrel drop in gasoline stocks [].
Concerns over diesel supply, particularly with strong demand
in Europe and Asia saw London's gas oil futures <LGOc1>, closely
related to diesel, hit a new peak of $1,017 a tonne on Tuesday.
The April contract stood at $1,003 a tonne by 1148 GMT.
Putting a cap on bullish expectations for products data,
crude stocks are seen rising by 2.2 million barrels, as refiners
imported more in a bid to raise feedstock supply for the coming
driving season.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on
Tuesday that U.S. gasoline demand is likely to contract this
summer for the first time since 1991 -- a reflection of high
prices and economic weakness in the world's biggest consumer.
But it also raised its full-year forecast for U.S. light
crude to more than $100 a barrel for the first time and said a
slowing U.S. economy would not be enough to check soaring oil
demand.[]
The dollar weakened on Wednesday as investors contrasted
Federal Reserve comments pointing to continued weakness in the
U.S. economy with expectations for further inflation-busting
talk from the euro zone.[]
A weak dollar tends to raise prices for commodities
denominated in the currency by boosting non-U.S. spending power
and by attracting investors seeking an inflation hedge.
"The market has traded so far in a very narrow range ahead
of the stats. The dollar is largely steady, equities too, so oil
is quiet as well. These three sectors are very intertwined these
days," said Olivier Jakob from Petrometrix.
"The dollar remains the main element for the time being, but
as long as it is steady, market direction is uncertain and
people wonder whether to look more at fundamentals and at the
statistics," Jakob added.
(Additional reporting by Luke Pachymuthu in Singapore,
Editing by William Hardy)
