TOKYO, July 6 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures extended gains on Wednesday, edging closer to a three-week intraday high marked the previous day, as investors awaited key industry data expected to show a decline in U.S. crude inventories.
Oil also got support from an upgraded price forecast from Barclays Capital and upbeat U.S. factory orders.
FUNDAMENTALS
* NYMEX crude for August delivery
The contract hit $97.48 on Tuesday, the highest for front-month NYMEX crude since June 15.
* London Brent crude for August delivery
* Barclays Capital raised its 2012 forecast for Brent by $10 to $115 per barrel, and upgraded its 2012 forecast for U.S. crude by $4 to $110. The bank left its Brent forecast for 2011 at $112 but cut its U.S. crude 2011 forecast by $6 to $100.
* Brent will fall to $90 a barrel by September because of the International Energy Agency's move to release oil reserves and an increase in Saudi Arabia's production, before bouncing for the longer term, Citigroup said.
* Exxon Mobil Corp does not have a definite repair plan yet for the ruptured Montana crude oil pipeline that it shut over the weekend, and company and government officials are still trying to determine the cause of the spill, a top executive said on Tuesday.
* The market awaited the release of key weekly data by the American Petroleum Institute later in the day.
A Reuters poll of analysts forecast that domestic crude stocks fell 2.3 million barrels in the week to July 1.
Distillate stocks were forecast up 600,000 barrels while gasoline inventories were projected to have been little changed from the week to June 24.
* The Commodity Futures Trading Commission released data on Tuesday for commodities including soybeans, cattle and crude oil showing changes in traders' positions since the beginning of 2009.
"The data shows that, in many cases, less than 20 percent of average daily trading volume results in traders changing their net long or net short all-futures- combined positions," said Gary Gensler, the head of the futures regulator.
MARKETS NEWS
* U.S. stocks ended a thinly traded session mostly flat on Tuesday as investors paused after last week's surge, though continually light volume suggested the market could encounter more choppy trading.
The Nasdaq closed higher for its sixth straight day, helped by strength in Netflix, while the Dow and the S&P 500 ended five-day streaks that marked the best week for equities in two years.
* The euro fell against the dollar and the Swiss franc on Tuesday, snapping six straight days of gains, after Moody's cut Portugal's credit rating to junk.
DATA/EVENTS
* The following data is expected on Wednesday: (Time in GMT)
- 0500 - Japan leading indicator/May
- 0700 - GB Halifax house prices/Jun
- 0900 - Euro Zone GDP revised/Q1
- 1000 - Germany Industrial orders/May
- 1100 - US Mortgage market index/wkly
- 1100 - US MBA purchase/wkly
- 1130 - US Challenger layoffs/Jun
- 1145 - ICSC chain stores/wkly
- 1255 - US Redbook/ wkly
- 2030 - American Petroleum Institute oil data/wkly
(Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori)