* EIA: U.S. gasoline stocks down sharply, crude stocks up
* U.S. private jobs data, factory orders support
* Wall Street gains on day, but falls in month
* Coming up: U.S. weekly jobless claims, Thursday (Recasts, updates market activity and prices)
By Gene Ramos
NEW YORK, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Brent crude futures rose for a seventh straight day on Wednesday, lifted by a sharp drawdown in U.S. gasoline stockpiles and as North Sea production issues kept European crude supplies tight.
U.S. gasoline futures led the oil complex higher for a second day, after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a steep 2.8 million barrel drawdown in stockpiles for the week to Aug. 26. [ID:nN1E77U0XZ]
The drawdown came as motorists on the East Coast filled up their gasoline tanks ahead of the Hurricane Irene. Another factor was a seasonal decreases related to the expiry on Wednesday of the September RBOB futures contract, the last contract for summer-grade gasoline.
"Gasoline stocks continue their seasonal drawdown," said Walter Zimmermann, chief technical analyst at United-ICAP in Jersey City, New Jersey. "The drawing down of summer grade becomes more urgent as summer expires.
In London, ICE October Brent crude
Brent gained additional support form ongoing production
problems in the North Sea, with some Forties cargoes deferred
for September. [ID:nL5E7JV304] BP PLC
U.S. crude oil edged down in choppy trading, snapping four days of gains after the EIA data showed a larger-than-expected build in domestic crude inventories. [ID:nN1E77U0XZ]
U.S. October crude
U.S. September RBOB gasoline
Trading volumes were heavy, with Brent crude hitting more than 556,000 contracts, by 4 p.m. EDT (2000 GMT), 18 percent above its 30-day average and U.S. topping 856,000 contracts, 27 percent above its 30-day average, according to Reuters data.
Oil prices got an early lift from a report that the U.S. private sector added 91,000 jobs in August while an index of factory activity in the U.S. Midwest in August and U.S. July factory orders were better than expected. [ID:nN9E7H701V]
Both data, though positive, continued to portray an economy struggling to mount a sustained recovery. As such, it further raised expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve would adopt new measures to shore up the economy, supporting gains on Wall Street. [.N]
STORMS
As oil companies continued to restore refinery operations following Hurricane Irene, focus shifted to the U.S. Gulf of Mexico where a weather system had a 30 percent chance of developing. [ID:nL4E7JV34A]
BP BP.N began to evacuate more than 500 non-essential workers from four platforms in the region, which contains large volumes of U.S. crude and natural gas production. [ID:nWEN7788]
Further off in the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Katia was likely to become a major hurricane on Sunday, but it was still too early to tell whether it would threaten energy infrastructure or oil drilling assets. [ID:nN1E77U10U]
Commodities and other markets were also gearing up for
Friday's all-important U.S. nonfarm payrolls and unemployment
report. A Reuters poll forecast that the economy added 75,000
jobs in August with the unemployment rate remaining steady at
9.1 percent. [ID:nEAPAV0EH0]
Stories on U.S. central bank policies [ID:nFEDAHEAD]
Reuters Hurricane Tracker: http://r.reuters.com/san78n
National Hurricane Center: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov
For storm coveragee: [ID:nSTORM] ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Additional reporting by Robert Gibbons and Matthew Robinson in New York; Ikuko Kurahone in London; Florence Tan in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy and David Gregorio)