* Slowing Asian, U.S. growth could weigh on fuel demand
* Rising Middle East exports also drag on oil
* Falling U.S. oil output puts brakes to slide
(Adds Canadian fire, updates prices)
By Henning Gloystein
SINGAPORE, May 4 (Reuters) - Oil prices edged up on
Wednesday as an uncontrolled wildfire near Canada's oil sands
region reduced production there, but overall markets were
weighed down by slowing economic growth in Asia and the United
States.
The Canadian province of Alberta raced to evacuate the
entire population of Fort McMurray, where a wildfire was taking
hold in the heart of the country's oil sands region, reducing
output at some facilities.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 were trading at $45.07 per
barrel at 0752 GMT, up 10 cents from their last settlement.
U.S. crude CLc1 was up 24 cents at $43.89 a barrel.
Wednesday's higher prices followed two trading sesssions
that added up to a nearly 7 percent fall for Brent and a 5
percent drop for U.S. crude from end-April levels, pulled down
by rising output from the Middle East and renewed signs of
economic slowdown in Asia.
"Asia's big markets continue to disappoint: Japan sank
further, China relapsed, and India slipped," said Frederic
Neumann of HSBC in Hong Kong, adding that exports were "stuck
below the waterline" and "local demand looks wobbly, too."
In the United States, the economy is also stuttering.
"Factory orders dropped for a 16th straight month," said the
U.S.-based Schork Report. "The U.S. is set for sub-3 percent
growth for a record 11th year," it said.
Despite this, most analysts expect markets to firm towards
the second half of the year.
Barclays (LON:BARC) said that "unplanned outages look unlikely to abate
in the next couple of months, which have contributed to a
tighter 1H16 oil market" and that "lower spare capacity,
heightened disruption risk in Iraq and Venezuela, and lower
supply ex-U.S. mean prices will likely average higher in Q4 than
previously forecast."
The bank said that it expected Brent to average $44 per
barrel this year, an upward revision of $5 from its previous
outlook, and U.S. crude to average $42 a barrel this year.
In oil production, U.S. output has fallen from a peak of
over 9.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in summer last year to
just over 8.9 million bpd currently, triggering one of the
biggest wave of bankruptcies in American corporate history.
Despite falling output, U.S. crude inventories rose by 1.3
million barrels in the week to April 29 to 539.7 million
barrels, according to data from the American Petroleum
Institute, enough to meet global demand for almost a week.
Still, strong demand ahead of the summer driving season
reduced stockpiles of gasoline and diesel.
In the Middle East, Iraqi exports are expected to rise in
April to 3.4 million bpd, while Saudi Arabian production could
return to 10.5 million bpd. Iranian exports have nearly doubled
since the start of the year to almost 2 million bpd.