Nymex crude moves up, but rebound seen limited

US oil futures edged up on Friday on bargain hunting, but traders said a rebound in prices would be limited because of high US crude oil inventories and an International Energy Agency (IEA) report showing slowing demand. Nymex crude for May delivery was trading at $51.26 a barrel, 13 cents or 0.25 percent higher, with 1,538 contracts changing hands. On Thursday, the contract settled up 91 cents at $51.13 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
It traded as low as $49.75 in a fall below $50 for the first time since February 22. "The market saw only a few sell orders even after the price fell below $50 level, and that prompted some players to build fresh long positions in a hope that the prices would rise again," said Keiichi Sano, an assistant manager of Sumitomo Corp's commodity business unit in Tokyo.
"But I think a rebound in crude oil prices would be limited, because the US inventory level is high, and concerns on global oil supplies have eased after the IEA said growth in oil demand was slowing down."
The US Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday domestic commercial crude inventories rose significantly more than expected last week, by 3.6 million barrels to 320.7 million, the ninth consecutive stock build.
On Tuesday, the IEA said a surge in world oil demand that has driven prices to record high prices is finally steadying as China reins in runaway consumption.
The agency revised annual world demand growth down by 50,000 barrels per day. Iranian oil minister Bijou Zanganeh said on Thursday there is no shortage of supply in world oil markets and current levels of Opec production and crude prices are acceptable.
In London, May Brent crude expire at $50.91 a barrel, up 43 cents, on the International Petroleum Exchange on Thursday. Nymex May gasoline was up 0.24 cent at $1.5065 a gallon.
On Thursday it settled up 1.98 cents at $1.5041 a gallon. Nymex May heating oil was up 0.47 cents at $1.4870 a gallon. It settled up 4.03 cents at $1.4823 a gallon on Thursday. On the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM), September crude futures rose 440 yen to 30,610 yen per kiloliter (yen/kl).
Benchmark October gasoline rose by 650 yen to 45,270 yen/kl and October kerosene rose by 790 yen to 45,790 yen/kl. October gas oil was up 870 yen at 43,970 yen/kl.