* Surge in global demand boosts oil prices
* Crude up more than 40 pct from 2010 low
* Prices not affecting economic growth yet
(Updates prices)
SINGAPORE, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Oil prices climbed near a
two-year high on Thursday, boosted by an unexpected surge in
global demand that has fueled the biggest drop in U.S. crude
stockpiles in more than a decade.
U.S. crude for February <CLc1> rose 13 cents to
$90.61 a barrel by 0500 GMT, after settling on Wednesday at
the highest level since October 2008. ICE Brent crude <LCOc1>
traded 4 cents higher at $93.69.
Oil has soared more than 40 percent since hitting a 2010
low of $64.24 in May, driven by a faster-than-expected
recovery in global fuel demand.
Despite its steady climb, oil likely has further wiggle
room before it begins to hinder economic growth in
oil-consuming countries, analysts said.
"Oil has risen as... inventories have fallen more than
expected due to the cold weather in the northern hemisphere,"
said Serene Lim, an oil analyst at ANZ, adding that prices
would need to rise above $110 before impacting economic growth.
U.S. crude oil inventories fell 5.33 million barrels last
week, the Energy Information Administration said.
Stockpiles in the world's biggest oil user have fallen by
19 million barrels since Nov. 26, roughly equivalent to one
day of U.S. fuel consumption and the biggest three-week drop
since 1998.
DEMAND REBOUND
A Reuters poll showed a surge in fuel demand in the fourth
quarter sent 2010 demand growth to near record levels, adding
support to prices in recent weeks, with further increases
expected next year as the economy improves. []
Demand growth was still centred on the developing world,
with one third of the 1.5 million barrel-per-day (bpd) global
growth coming from China, according to the survey of 12 top
oil-tracking analysts.
China's apparent oil demand rose 13.9 percent from a year
earlier to a record-high of 9.34 million bpd in November,
Reuters calculations from official data showed. []
Oil also found support from forecasts for cold weather in
northern Europe and the United States, with U.S. heating oil
demand expected to average 4.6 percent above normal this week.
Forecaster AccuWeather.com expects temperatures in the
U.S. Northeast, the world's largest heating oil market, to
average mostly below normal for the next week, with slightly
milder readings late this month.
In Europe, fresh snow forecasts threatened to prolong
chaos caused by a cold snap, with airlines and rail networks
struggling to restore normal services.
(Reporting by Randolph Fabi, additional reporting by Seng Li
Peng; Editing by Manash Goswami)
