* Fed to complete bond-buying program as planned
* Fed sees effects of hiked commodity prices fleeting
* U.S. gasoline stocks down for 10th week, EIA data shows
* Coming Up: Preliminary 1st quarter U.S. GDP, Thursday
(Recasts, updates prices, market activity to close)
By Gene Ramos
NEW YORK, April 27 (Reuters) - Oil rose on Wednesday after
U.S. Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke gave no signs that the
central bank was about to tighten monetary policy.
After getting an early boost from U.S. inventory data
showing tightening gasoline stockpiles, oil markets extended
gains after the Federal Reserve signaled it is in no rush to
scale back its support for the U.S recovery as it cut its
forecast for 2011 economic growth. []
Lower interest rates tend to fuel commodity prices, driving
investors into riskier assets and pushing up prices. While the
central bank noted energy and commodity prices were rising, it
said their effects would be "transitory."
U.S. crude prices have risen more than 20 percent so far
this year and consumers in the world's largest economy are
starting to show signs of being hurt by higher fuel costs.
U.S. crude oil for May delivery <CLc1> settled at $112.76 a
barrel, gaining 55 cents, after climbing to a session high of
$113.40, just below the year's high of $113.48 hit on Monday.
In London, May Brent crude <LCOc1> closed at $125.13 a
barrel, up 99 cents, after hitting the day's high at $125.80,
closing in on the year's high of $127.02 struck on April 11.
The dollar pared gains against the yen and held near a
16-month low against the euro after Bernanke's press
convergence
, and the Nasdaq jumped to a 10-year high as U.S. stocks
rallied. [] []
Among wide-ranging comments about the economy, Bernanke
noted that if oil prices don't increase significantly further,
inflation would come down []
"The Fed is sticking to its policy, and, as a result, we
have to expect recent trends in the dollar and commodities to
remain intact," said John Kilduff, partner at hedge fund Again
Capital in New York.
GASOLINE WORRIES
Crude got an early lift from U.S. Energy Information
Administration data showing domestic gasoline stockpiles fell
2.51 million barrels last week to the lowest level since August
2009, marking the 10th drawdown in a row.
U.S. May gasoline futures <RBK1> settled at $3.4194 a
gallon, up 6.22 cents, extending gains for the fifth day and
posting the highest close since the July 14, 2008 close at
$3.5577.
Supply concerns ahead of the U.S. driving season have
fueled gasoline's rise this week, after a power outage in Texas
City, Texas temporarily shut a combined 4 percent of total U.S.
refining capacity.
BP Plc's <BP.L> <BP.N> giant Texas City, Texas refinery
remained idle Wednesday as power supply problems plagued the
regional refining hub for a third day. []
MIDEAST UNREST SUPPORTIVE
Fighting in Libya and violence in the Middle East was
unabated with unrest raging in Syria and Yemen. Italian oil and
gas group Eni <ENI.MI>, reporting earnings on Wednesday, said
production fell almost 9 percent in the first quarter because
of situation in Libya. []
Lending support to Brent, BP said the North Sea's Forties
pipeline may have to be shut for a few days later this year due
to the discovery of an unexploded German mine from World War
Two. []
(Additional reporting by Robert Gibbons and Janet McGurty in
New York; Alex Lawler in London and Manash Goswami in
Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Matthew Robinson)
