* US drillers cut average of 20 rigs per week over past year
* US dollar dips as Fed in no rush to raise interest rates
* Traders await wave of China data after National Holiday
By Henning Gloystein
SINGAPORE, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose in early Asian
trading on Monday after U.S. drillers cut oil rigs for six
straight weeks, while traders awaited Chinese trade data to be
published following the one-week National Holiday.
U.S. drillers removed nine oil rigs in the week ended Oct.
9, bringing the total rig count down to 605, oil services
company Baker Hughes (N:BHI) Inc BHI.N said late on Friday.
That total was the least since July, 2010. Drillers had cut
a total of 61 rigs over the prior five weeks.
Since hitting an all-time high of 1,609 during this week a
year ago, weekly rig count reductions have averaged 20.
ID:nL1N1291GV
"Another fall in the U.S. oil rig count helped support WTI
price (but) the focus will be on the release of China's trade
data, which will indicate whether low prices have kept import
demand high," ANZ said bank.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were
trading at $49.79 per barrel at 0008 GMT, up 16 cents from their
last settlement. Internationally traded Brent futures LCOc1
were up 11 cents at $52.76 a barrel.
Oil was also supported by a weaker U.S. dollar, since it
makes imports for countries using different currencies cheaper.
The U.S. dollar .DXY EUR= hit three-week lows against
the euro as minutes from the Federal Reserve's September policy
meeting showed the Fed in no rush to raise interest rates.
ID:nL1N1292AA
Data from China in coming days is likely to point to further
weakness in the world's second-largest economy, starting with
import and export data to be published on Tuesday.
ID:nL1N1292AK
Some investors fear the economy is at risk of a hard landing
which could jeopardise an increasingly fragile international
outlook, though most analysts forecast a slow deceleration,
predicting that a raft of earlier support measures will
gradually kick in. ID:nL3N12303J
(Editing by Ed Davies)