* Weekly API data expected to show fall in U.S. crude stocks
* China PMI up; U.S. manufacturing index seen rising
* Reuters survey shows fall in OPEC compliance to 68 percent
(Updates prices, detail, background)
By Christopher Johnson and Catherine Bosley
LONDON, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Oil rose above $70 a barrel on
Tuesday in choppy trade, as the market awaited U.S. data
expected to indicate economic recovery and higher fuel
consumption in the world's biggest energy market.
By 1235 GMT, U.S. crude for October delivery <CLc1> was up
12 cents at $70.08 a barrel. London Brent crude was up 25 cents
at $69.90.
Oil has risen from a low of 32.40 in December, helped by
economic recovery optimism that lifted global stocks
<.MIWD00000PUS> to 10-month highs last month.
The purchasing managers' index in China, the world's
second-biggest oil user, reached a 16-month high in August.
[].
The data helped crude rise to an intra-day high of $70.64,
as the market recovered from a 4 percent fall on Monday in
response to worries about Chinese curbs to lending.
"The Chinese industry data supplied a bit of hope. (But) I
don't see a strong recovery in the oil price," said Eugen
Weinberg, analyst at Commerzbank.
"The risk factors ... freight rates, a weak stock market,
possibly also a stronger dollar and weak equity markets in
Europe today indicate prices are likely to fall."
U.S. DATA
Oil traders will look for fresh direction in August
manufacturing data and weekly crude stockpiles data from the
United States.
The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing gauge
will be released at 1400 GMT and is expected to be in positive
territory for the first time since the recession began, a
Reuters poll of economists showed.
At 2030 GMT, weekly oil inventory data from the American
Petroleum Institute (API) is expected to show a 400,000 barrel
fall in U.S. crude stocks following an increase in refinery
utilisation, a preliminary Reuters poll of analysts showed.
[]
The industry data will be followed on Wednesday by figures
from the U.S. government's Energy Information Administration
(EIA).
Adding to already high inventories, OPEC has reduced its
compliance with agreed production curbs, a Reuters survey on
Tuesday found.
OPEC supply in August rose for a fourth consecutive month as
Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Venezuela increased their production,
taking overall output discipline to 68 percent from a revised 70
percent in July. []
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meets
on Sept. 9 in Vienna to reconsider its output policy.
(Additional reporting by Jennifer Tan in Singapore; editing by
Sue Thomas)
