* U.S. consumer confidence rebounds
* Citibank, GE quarterly earnings support
* Focus on crude inventories at nearly 19-year high
(Recasts, updates prices and market activity, adds byline,
changes dateline from LONDON)
By Rebekah Kebede
NEW YORK, April 17 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose over $50 a
barrel on Friday on news of a rebound in U.S. consumer
confidence and better-than-expected quarterly earnings.
However, a nearly 19-year high in crude oil inventories, a
stronger dollar and continuing worries about the economic
outlook kept a cap on prices.
U.S. crude oil futures <CLc1> were 58 cents higher at
$50.56 a barrel by 12:58 p.m. EDT (1658 GMT). ICE Brent crude
<LCOc1> rose 2 cents to $53.08.
"You've got two forces kind of battling and we're basically
just stuck here around $50," said Tom Bentz, senior commodity
analyst at BNP Paribas Commodity Futures Inc in New York.
"Some of the more positive results from Citigroup and
General Electric are giving optimism that maybe things are
turning around and that is helping to bolster buying in
crude."
Citigroup <C.N> and General Electric <GE.N> reported
better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter of 2009.
[]
Oil was also buoyed by a survey showing that U.S. consumer
confidence rebounded in April to the highest levels since
September.[]
Prices eased from gains of more than $1 earlier as U.S.
stocks turned negative as news of Citigroup's
better-than-expected first quarter performance was tempered by
comments from the company indicating that consumer credit
deterioration continues to be a concern.[]
Oil has hovered around $50 for most of this month and gains
have been limited by weak demand and rising crude stocks, which
in the United States have reached their highest level in nearly
19 years.[]
The $50-a-barrel level is also key in that members of the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries have said it
is a good compromise price given the weakness of the global
economy.
"OPEC may have to do more at their meeting next month but
until then, I think they are happy with $50 a barrel," Bentz
said.
The producer group has argued prices need to be higher to
support investment for the long-term, but for the near-term, it
is mindful of the need to nurse oil-consuming nations back to
economic health.
Oil is around $100 below a record high of $147.27 a barrel
last July, but OPEC's action to limit supplies has helped to
pull the market back from a low of $32.40 in December.
Industry observers and analysts have estimated OPEC has
delivered around 80 percent of its agreements to reduce output
by 4.2 million barrels per day from last September.
They have also said it could struggle to tighten output
much more.
Monthly crude allocations have shown leading exporter Saudi
Arabia has cut supplies to some of its customers for May, but
Nigeria and Angola have added extra cargoes to their April and
May loading schedules, traders said.
(Additional reporting by Ikuko Kao in London, Jennifer Tan in
Singapore; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
