* U.S. crude highest in a year
* EIA inventory data on Thursday
* Wall Street rally, dollar weakness driving gains
(Updates prices, previous SINGAPORE)
By Chris Baldwin
LONDON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Oil rose for a sixth straight
session towards $76 a barrel on Thursday, touching its highest
price in a year after U.S. industry data showed a modest fall in
crude stockpiles.
Further support for crude came as the Dow Jones industrial
average rose above 10,000 points for the first time in a year on
Wednesday, while the dollar slumped to a fresh 14-month low
against a basket of currencies. []
Traders will look to weekly jobless claims and U.S. Energy
Information Administration (EIA) inventory data later in the
trading session for confirmation that fuel demand in the world's
largest economy is rising.
U.S. crude for November delivery rose 46 cents to $75.64 a
barrel by 0815 GMT, after climbing as high as $75.96 earlier in
electronic trading, its highest since October 2008.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> was up 49 cents at $73.59.
Crude, up 1.8 percent on the year, is now in positive
territory on a year-on-year basis for the first time since Oct.
10, 2008. The six straight days of gains mark its longest
winning streak since July.
Slumping fuel demand in the United States and other
developed countries has sent crude off record highs above $147 a
barrel last year.
For a graphic showing oil's year-on-year performance, click:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/109/CMD_OILPST1009.gif
POOR FUNDAMENTALS
Analysts at JBC Energy in Vienna said in a note to clients:
"there is currently no fundamental reason supporting a price
rise and the path back to $100 per barrel will be a long and
protracted one."
"Poor oil fundamentals, including 6 million b/d of OPEC
spare capacity, a massive middle distillates stock surplus and
terrible refining margins will keep the upside potential in
check," JBE Energy analysts wrote.
U.S. crude stocks fell 172,000 barrels last week against
expectations of a 700,000 barrel rise, according to data from
the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Wednesday. The EIA is
due to release its report at 1500 GMT. []
U.S. weekly jobless claims due at 1230 GMT will shed more
light on the pace of economic recovery. A Reuters poll of
economists forecast 525,000 new filings compared with 521,000 in
the prior week.
For a graphic showing the oil price against world oil
consumption, click here:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/109/CMD_OILDDM1009.gif
For a graphic showing the oil price and days supply, click here:
http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/109/CMD_OILSP1009.gif
(Additional reporting by Jennifer Tan in Singapore; editing by
James Jukwey)
