* Cushing stockpiles climb for eighth straight week - EIA
* Brent premium over WTI tops $6 first time in 15 months
* U.S. weekly jobless claims fall
* For a technical view on oil prices, click: []
(Updates prices, details)
By David Sheppard
LONDON, May 13 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil prices fell by 2
percent on Thursday, with the benchmark U.S. crude contract
pressured to a three-month low near $74 a barrel by record
stockpiles in the U.S. Midwest, while London Brent eased to $80.
The two-main benchmark contracts have diverged significantly
over the past week. Rising global energy demand and hopes
Europe's debt crisis can be tackled have seen Brent rise for
three of the last four days, while U.S. crude prices have been
falling since Tuesday.
Stockpiles of crude at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery hub
for the U.S. contract, have risen for the last eight weeks to
stand at a record 37 million barrels, pushing U.S. crude to its
steepest discount to Brent since the peak of the economic
crisis.
The number of U.S. workers filing new applications for
unemployment insurance also fell slightly less than expected
last week, government data showed on Thursday, while the number
of people still drawing benefits unexpectedly rose, painting a
mixed picture of the economic recovery. []
At 1243 GMT on Thursday, U.S. crude <CLc1> oil for delivery
in June was trading down $1.47 at $74.18 a barrel, while Brent
was trading down 86 cents at $80.33 a barrel.
U.S. crude normally trades at a premium to Brent.
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For a graphic on the premium of Brent to U.S. crude:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/CT_20101305150135.jpg
For a technical look at the Brent to U.S. crude spread:
[]
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"In general, Brent is acting as a much better benchmark for
global fundamentals at the moment," Barclays Capital analyst
Amrita Sen said.
Cushing's landlocked location means it tends to only reflect
the supply and demand situation in the midwestern United States,
analysts said.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said total
gasoline demand in the United States, which accounts for more
than one in 10 barrels of global consumption, is up by 2.7
percent on the same four week period last year.
Gasoline inventories in the United States declined by 2.8
million barrels last week, the EIA said on Wednesday, though
total U.S. crude inventories were up by 1.9 million barrels.
Prices were supported by firmer equity markets in Europe,
which rose for the second straight day after Spain outlined
measures to reduce its deficit, including pay and job cuts in
the public sector, while first quarter earnings continued a
positive trend. [] []
The euro zone debt crisis roiled energy markets last week,
knocking U.S. crude from a 19-month peak of $87.15 on May 3 to a
three-month low of $74.51 just four days later.
"It's mid-term expectations that have kept prices in a range
between $75 and $85," said Ken Hasegawa, a commodity
derivatives manager at brokerage Newedge in Japan.
The U.S. crude contract for delivery in July is trading
almost trading $5 above the current contract, with the premium
between the two touching its highest level since February 2009.
(Additional reporting by Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore;
editing by William Hardy)
