* Oil rebounds after lowest close in seven weeks
* U.S. distillates stocks at highest level in nearly 25 yrs
(Updates prices, changes dateline, PVS SINGAPORE)
By David Sheppard
LONDON, July 9 (Reuters) - Oil rose by more than $1 on
Thursday to edge back above $61 a barrel, halting a six-session
losing streak which has seen prices decline by 15 percent on
concerns about the timing of any economic recovery.
Prices hit a seven-week low just above $60 a barrel the
previous day on bearish U.S. oil data which highlighted how weak
demand is in the world's largest energy consumer.
U.S. diesel and heating oil stocks have swelled to their
highest level in almost 25 years after jumping by 3.7 million
barrels last week, data from the Energy Information
Administration (EIA) showed. []
U.S. light crude for August delivery <CLc1> rose $1.01 a
barrel to $61.15 by 0853 GMT, having lost more than 4 percent on
Wednesday.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> gained $1.24 to $61.67 a barrel.
"It's no more than a mild correction from the earlier
decline that reflected the EIA report," said David Moore,
commodity analyst with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
But he did not expect prices to fall much further, he added.
"There are still concerns about the outlook for demand,
particularly in the U.S. But much of the possible decline in oil
prices has already happened. If we did dip below $60, you would
probably see some people who might see it as a buying
opportunity," Moore said.
The 15 percent drop in oil prices since the end of June was
the longest and steepest decline so far in 2009. Prices had been
rising since February, more than doubling from lows hit near $33
at the depth of the economic crisis as traders started to price
in an eventual recovery.
But many analysts cautioned prices had gone ahead of the
real economy, with unemployment still rising and global oil
inventories mounting up.
The fragile state of the global economy dominated the first
day of the annual G8 summit, with the United States, Japan,
Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Russia acknowledging
there were still significant risks to financial stability.
[]
OPEC's 2009 World Oil Outlook added to the gloom as it said
world demand for oil may take years to recover from the slump in
2009 because of economic weakness and demand destruction.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
said consumption of its crude will not return to 31 million
barrels per day (bpd), the level it averaged in 2008, until
2013. []
OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah al-Badri said on Wednesday
oil prices -- trading just above $60 per barrel -- were
"comfortable", but were still below the $75 a barrel the
producer group said at its May meeting could be achieved this
year.
(Additional reporting by Maryelle Demongeot in Singapore;
Editing by William Hardy)
