* U.S. gasoline up nearly 6 pct, ULSD up almost 5 pct
* Brazil strike cuts 25 pct of daily crude output
* Libyan force majeure on crude loadings add to gains
* Coming up: API report on U.S. crude inventories at 2130
GMT
(New throughout; adding market's extension of early gains,
technical analyst's comments)
By Barani Krishnan
NEW YORK, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Crude prices rose about 4
percent on Tuesday as a rally in U.S. gasoline and diesel added
support to oil markets already boosted by an industry strike in
Brazil and force majeure for Libyan crude loadings.
The rebound, after a 1 percent drop in crude prices on
Tuesday, came ahead of industry group American Petroleum
Institute's (API) data on U.S. oil inventories, which were
expected to a build in crude stockpiles.
"If you look at the supply situation, the bigger picture is
bearish. But the price action suggests the path of least
resistance is higher for now," said Scott Shelton, oil broker
and commodities specialist at ICAP (L:IAP) in Durham, North Carolina.
Brent LCOc1 was up $1.92, or 4 percent, at $50.71 a barrel
by 1:28 p.m. EST (1828 GMT) after hitting a session peak at
$50.83.
U.S. crude CLc1 rose $2, or 4.3 percent, to $48.14.
"From a technical point of view, both oil contracts are
displaying bullish characteristics, although neither has yet to
make a decisive breakthrough," said Fawad Razaqzada, analyst at
forex.com. He pegged resistance for Brent at between $51 and $52
and for U.S. crude at above $48.50.
U.S. gasoline RBc1 jumped nearly 6 percent and ultralow
sulfur diesel HOc1 almost 5 percent, extending gains in
afternoon trade, on expectations the government will report that
inventories of refined oil products fell last week despite
forecasts that it will also announce a 2.8 million-barrel build
in crude. EIA/S
The government's report is due on Wednesday, after the API
numbers at 4:30 p.m. EST (2130 GMT) on Tuesday.
Gasoline's "crack" CL-RB1=R , or the profit refiners get
for turning crude oil into that motor fuel, hit a one-month
high.
An oil workers' strike in Brazil, the ninth biggest global
producer, that began on Sunday cut around half a million barrels
of output in the first 24 hours and has slowed state-run
Petrobras' daily oil output by around 25 percent, according to
the union. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N12Y1PK
In Libya, the export terminal at the eastern port of
Zueitina was closed and force majeure has been declared on crude
oil loadings, market sources said. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N12Y44J
Oil prices have been trending higher since late October on
suggestions of declining U.S. shale oil production.
But Goldman Sachs (N:GS), Wall Street's leading voice on the oil
market, said in a report that U.S. crude output could still rise
this year and next, citing its study on oil wells.