* China April exports up 4.9 pct y/y vs forecast of 8.5 pct
* Euro zone govts agree to 5.2 bln euros payment to Greece
* U.S. crude stocks up 3.65 mln bbls last week – EIA
(Updates throughout, changes dateline, previous SINGAPORE)
By Julia Payne
LONDON, May 10 (Reuters) – Oil fell to around $113 per
barrel on Thursday, pressured by weaker-than-expected Chinese
trade data highlighting concerns over energy demand in the
world’s second-largest oil consumer.
Brent crude has fallen sharply from highs around $126 per
barrel in April due to worries about political turmoil in Europe
and a growing conviction that the market is well-supplied.
And while a five-day negative run ended on Wednesday,
analysts remained downbeat about prospects for oil.
Brent crude oil futures for June lost 20 cents to
$113.00 a barrel by 0855 GMT, after settling at $113.20 on
Wednesday, up 47 cents. U.S. crude slipped 35 cents to
$96.46.
“Brent seems to be bottoming out since it has not hit the
Monday low again,” said Carsten Fritsch, oil analyst at
Commerzbank. “The downward momentum is losing ground but I do
not expect to see much of rebound in the coming days due to
physical oversupply and a weak euro zone.”
China’s exports and imports in April grew at a far slower
rate than forecast, government data showed.
Signs of rising U.S. crude inventories added downward
pressure, although this was tempered by falling refined fuel
stocks in the world’s top oil consumer.
“The weak Chinese data is putting more pressure on oil. With
demand for oil looking bleak and rising inventories, I don’t
expect crude oil prices to rebound any time soon,” said Miguel
Audencial, a trader with CMC Markets in Sydney.
China’s trade performance last month was surprisingly weak,
and analysts said the government would need to loosen monetary
policies to spur expansion or risk missing their annual growth
targets.
“If the government does not relax policies further, all
factors that dragged growth down in the first three months will
still remain in the second quarter,” said Jianguang Shen, chief
economist at Mizuho Securities Asia in Hong Kong.
China imported 22.26 million tonnes of crude oil in April,
down 5.5 percent from 23.55 million tonnes in the previous
month, data from China’s General Administration of Customs
showed.
EURO ZONE, SUPPLY WEIGHS
Oil prices plunged this week on worries that leadership
changes in France and Greece could threaten austerity plans seen
as key to tackling the euro zone debt crisis.
Fresh concerns over the health of Spanish banks have added
to Europe’s woes, but Greece appeared to have averted an
imminent funding crisis after the board of the European
Financial Stability Facility agreed on Wednesday to a scheduled
5.2 billion euro payment.
The euro, however, remained below the $1.3 mark on Thursday
after hitting $1.29115 on Wednesday, its lowest since January
23, pressured by fears a political vacuum in Greece could put
the highly indebted country on course for insolvency and a messy
exit from the euro.
“Greece and the euro-dollar differential has broken the $1.3
level,” said Olivier Jakob at consultancy Petromatrix, “Global
markets are at risk, putting pressure on Brent, but efforts are
being made to stabilise and Iran remains the underlying bullish
factor keeping Brent above $110.”
Signs of rising supplies globally also weighed on oil
prices. U.S. crude oil inventories rose 3.65 million barrels
last week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in
its weekly report, more than analyst expectations.
But the inventory boost in the EIA data was much less than a
rise of 7.8 million barrels reported by the American Petroleum
Institute on Tuesday.
Gasoline stocks fell 2.61 million barrels and distillate
stocks fell 3.25 million barrels, the EIA said.
Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said on Wednesday oil
markets would remain well supplied even after fresh
international sanctions against Iran take effect, as global
crude oversupply is already as much as 1.5 million barrels per
day.
Saudi Arabia will also be supplying full contracted volumes
of crude oil in June to at least three Asian term buyers as an
alternative to Iranian crude.
Higher production from Saudi Arabia has partly filled a
supply gap caused by lower imports from sanctions-hit
Iran.
(Additional reporting by Francis Kan in Singapore, Editing by
Jason Neely)
