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Oil rebounds from 1-mth lows, tracks equities higher

Published 08/03/2011, 11:15 PM
Updated 08/03/2011, 11:20 PM
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* Traders eye US jobless claims, monthly nonfarm payrolls

* Technicals: Brent to fall below $110

* Coming Up: U.S. initial jobless claims; 1230 GMT

By Alejandro Barbajosa

SINGAPORE, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Oil posted a modest rebound from one-month lows on Thursday, tracking a bounce in Asian stock markets ahead of key U.S. employment reports expected to shed further light on whether a recovery in the world's largest economy is faltering.

U.S. crude rose 21 cents to $92.14 a barrel by 0239 GMT, after dipping for a fourth straight session on Wednesday to $91.93, the lowest close since June 27. Brent added 1 cent to $113.24, after slumping more than $3 a day earlier.

Investors are awaiting Thursday's U.S. jobless benefits claims report and Friday's key nonfarm payrolls data that is forecast to show the economy gained 85,000 jobs in July. ADP data on Wednesday showed U.S. private employers added more jobs than expected in July.

"Today it's just a relief rebound after quite a drastic drop in both crude benchmarks overnight," said Serene Lim, a Singapore-based oil analyst at ANZ.

"There is a mild risk-on investor sentiment after U.S. stocks were stronger. ADP employment data was generally quite positive, setting a positive stage for non-farm payrolls."

Still, Lim said markets would remain jittery after front-month Brent moved below its 100-day moving average price, a key support level for chart watchers, adding that Brent had "negative momentum." The moving average now stands close to $117 a barrel, more than $3 higher than the current price.

Gasoline futures led the oil complex lower on Wednesday after government data showed U.S. stockpiles of the fuel rose sharply last week while demand over the past four weeks fell 3.6 percent from a year ago. This stirred worries about tepid consumption during the peak summer demand period.

U.S. gasoline inventories last week rose for the third straight week, up 1.7 million barrels. Four-week average demand, at 9.07 million barrels per day, was the lowest since the week to May 20.

Still, crude stockpiles at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery point for the U.S. oil futures contract dropped to the lowest level since December.

Brent's premium against U.S. crude , also known as West Texas Intermediate and priced at Cushing, narrowed to $21.33. The premium rose to $23.03 on Tuesday, which was the widest since the $23.57 record set on July 14.

SLOWDOWN AND DEBT CRISIS

A closely-watched index of the vast U.S. services sector unexpectedly fell in July from June, and new U.S. factory orders fell in June, reducing the prospects of a rebound in the second half of the year.

In other markets, Tokyo's Nikkei jumped on Thursday as the yen fell broadly after Japanese authorities intervened to weaken the currency, a day after the Swiss central bank surprised markets by cutting interest rates to rein in the high-flying franc.

Other Asian stock markets also drifted higher, but worries about global growth were likely to limit investor enthusiasm. The surge in safe-haven gold paused at $1,662 an ounce as riskier assets made a tentative comeback.

The European Union acknowledged on Wednesday that investors now doubt whether the euro zone can overcome its debt crisis and Italy's Silvio Berlusconi called for more action to ward off market attacks.

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