* U.S. Fed ready to ease monetary policy if economy weakens
* IEA forecast shows demand increasing next year
* EIA shows 3.12 million barrel drop in crude stock (Updates after IEA data, Bernanke comment)
By Ikuko Kurahone and Simon Falush
LONDON, July 13 (Reuters) - Crude futures turned positive on Wednesday due to a larger than expected drop in U.S. crude inventories and comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that the central bank was ready to ease monetary policy further.
Brent futures for August delivery
U.S. crude
Analysts said crude oil futures pared losses, primarily responding to Bernanke's remarks, and extended gains as weekly data from the U.S. government showed a 3.12 million barrel drop in crude oil stocks for the week to July 8.
The fall was larger than analysts' forecast of a 1.8 million barrel drop and contrasted with Tuesday's data from the industry group American Petroleum Institute (API), which reported a 2.3 million barrel build in crude stocks for the same week.
"The numbers look bullish. The draws are a little surprising, especially given last night's API numbers," said Mark Kellstrom, senior analyst with Strategic Energy Research & Capital in New Jersey.
Major U.S. stock indexes rose more than 1 percent and gold hit a fresh record high following Bernanke's comment about more monetary stimulus if a sluggish U.S. economy weakens further. The dollar tumbled.
Worries about euro zone debt concerns kept oil prices in negative territory earlier in the session, despite supportive data from China and a forecast of strong demand growth from the International Energy Agency.
Euro zone plans for a leaders' summit on a second Greek rescue were thrown into doubt by Germany on Wednesday, raising fears markets may exploit the policy vacuum with a new onslaught on the bloc's high debtors.
The IEA, the West's energy watchdog, predicted global oil demand would rise next year to a hefty 91 million barrels per day (bpd), outpacing a more conservative prediction by OPEC.
China's second-quarter gross domestic product rose 9.5 percent from a year earlier, exceeding economists' forecasts for 9.4 percent growth.
The country's implied oil demand in June rose 1.1 percent from a year earlier, however, the slowest growth rate since April 2009. (Additional reporting by Ikuko Kurahone in London Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore; editing by Anthony Barker)