* North Sea oil field maintenance supports Brent futures
* Global manufacturing shows signs of recovery
* But some traders warn that oil fundamentals remain weak
By Henning Gloystein
SINGAPORE, April 7 (Reuters) - Crude futures were lifted by
a raft of supportive indicators in early trading on Thursday,
although some traders warned that physical supply and demand
fundamentals did not warrant a strong price recovery at this
stage.
International Brent futures LCOc1 traded above $40 per
barrel in early trading and stood at $40.07 at 0038 GMT, up 23
cents from the last close and almost 8 percent above lows
reached earlier this week.
Front month U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures
CLc1 were trading at $38.09 per barrel, up 34 cents from their
last close and 8 percent above their April lows.
U.S. crude prices were supported by an unexpected fall in
crude inventories, albeit from all-time record highs, last week
as refineries continued to hike output and imports fell.
"Oil prices spiked after the EIA data release," ANZ bank
said in a morning note on Thursday.
U.S. crude inventories USOILC=ECI fell 4.9 million barrels
in the week to April 1, compared with analysts' expectations for
an increase of 3.2 million barrels, according to data from the
Energy Information Administration on Wednesday.
In Europe, North Sea oil field maintenance expected next
month lent support to Brent futures, which are priced off North
Sea supplies.
And on the demand side, manufacturing seems to be recovering
from recent weakness, analysts said.
"Global manufacturing PMIs (Purchasing Managers' Index) saw
their strongest MoM (month-on-month) recovery in two and half
years in March, according to our calculations," Macquarie bank
said.
Yet some traders warned that the rise in futures prices
might be premature and not supported by physical market
fundamentals.
A planned meeting of major oil producers on April 17 to
freeze output around current levels, which in most cases remains
at or near record highs, would do little to reduce an overhang
in production with at least a million barrels of crude pumped
every day in excess of demand.
"Absent a tightening in global oil fundamentals we reiterate
our recommendation to go long put spread," BNP Paribas (PA:BNPP) said.
A put is a financial instrument that gives a trader the
option right to sell an asset like crude futures.
(Editing by Ed Davies)