UPDATE 4-Oil edges up towards $50; mixed data curbs gains

                                
 * New U.S. jobless claims fall
                                
 * China's mixed Q1 GDP data limits gains
                                
 * Equities slip on financial stocks
 
                                
 (Updates prices)
                                
 By David Sheppard
                                
 LONDON, April 16 (Reuters) - Oil edged higher towards $50 a
barrel on Thursday but gains were limited as mixed data from the
United States and China reminded investors that any signs of
economic recovery were still tentative.
                                
  U.S. crude for May delivery <CLc1> was up 15 cents at
$49.40 a barrel by 1519 GMT, after rising to $50.48 earlier in
the session. ICE Brent crude for the new front month June
<LCOc1> was up 66 cents at $53.10 a barrel.
                                
 In the United States, the world's largest energy consumer,
the number of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits
unexpectedly fell last week, but continuing claims rose to a 
record as the recession bit. [ID:nN16449133]
                                
 China, the world's number two energy consumer, said its
economy grew a slower-than-expected 6.1 percent in the first
quarter but also showed improvements in March, signalling the
worst of the slowdown could be over. [ID:nPEK237287]
                                
 Equity markets were weighed down by financial shares on
Thursday as investors fretted about the quality of bank
earnings, despite better-than-expected results from JPMorgan
Chase.
                                
 "Oil is only being supported near $50 a barrel by much
higher prices along the forward curve, as the market expects
fundamentals to improve towards the end of the year," Bache
Commodities broker Christopher Bellew said.
                                
 Oil contracts for delivery in December are trading near $60
a barrel.
                                
 The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said
on Wednesday world oil demand would fall 1.37 million barrels
per day (bpd) in 2009, revised from its previous forecast for a
fall of 1.01 million bpd. [ID:N4577]
                                
 Both the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the U.S.
Energy Information Administration (EIA) have also cut their
global demand forecasts as the slowdown curbs consumption.
                                
 But OPEC production cuts and a possible economic recovery
are expected to tighten the market later this year.
                                
 The drop in demand has seen U.S. crude oil inventories soar
to their highest level since September 1990, gaining 5.6 million
barrels last week alone, the EIA's weekly report showed on
Wednesday. [EIA/S]
                                
 "The U.S. inventory stats were really, really bad and we
expected oil to fall to around $43 to $48, but the bottom was
pretty firm even with the terrible data," said Tony Nunan, risk
manager at Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Corp.
                                
 "It looks like the market has found its bottom, but it's
going to struggle to go up from here."
 (Editing by Sue Thomas)