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Oil rose for a third straight session on Thursday to top $106 a barrel, bolstered by a weak dollar and US government data showing a larger-than-expected drop in fuel stocks. US light crude for May delivery rose 54 cents to $106.44 a barrel by 0434 GMT.
It had settled up $4.68, or 4.6 percent, at $105.90 a barrel in New York trade, posting the biggest one-day percentage gain in three weeks. London Brent crude rose 44 cents to $104.43. "The mood has obviously swung around completely from last week and the market is now focusing on the very positive set of US inventory data," said Melbourne-based Mark Pervan, a senior resource analyst at the Australia & New Zealand Bank.
"The weak dollar is also encouraging funds to pour their money into the safe havens of commodities and energy markets again." US government data on Wednesday showed crude oil inventories were unchanged last week, bucking expectations for an increase of 1.7 million barrels.
Gasoline inventories fell by 3.3 million barrels, more than triple the 800,000-barrel forecast, as US refiners slowed production to the lowest levels since October 2005, when several refineries were knocked offline by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Distillates dropped 2.2 million barrels, also more than forecast. The dollar edged up against the euro and Swiss Franc on Thursday after falling sharply for two straight sessions as a string of poor data stoked US recession fears. But despite the gains, the dollar remained not far from a record low against the euro.
Support also came from news of supply disruptions in France and Gabon due to strikes. French port and dock workers held a 24-hour strike at French state-owned ports on Wednesday, blocking France's largest oil and gas port, while a workers' strike in Gabon had halted 60,000 barrels of daily output from a Shell subsidiary in the West African nation.
Worries of a supply disruption in Iraq, which has only recently seen its oil exports return to pre-invasion levels, have also added to bullish sentiments, analysts said.
Oil production and exports from the southern oilfields could be disrupted in three days if workers cannot reach their offices due to fighting in Basra, a Southern Oil Company official said. "While not yet a strong driver of oil prices, we see events in Iraq as having taken a dangerous turn, with the stability of the southern oil system now starting to become a potential concern," Barclays Capital Research said in a note to clients.

Copyright Reuters, 2008

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