TN PETRÓLEO

Oil prices rose to near $114 a barrel Wednesday in Asia as the dollar fell against the euro and yen ahead of weekly U.S. crude inventory data.


A weakening dollar has helped boost oil prices this year, because dollar-denominated commodities are often used as hedges against inflation and a falling U.S. currency. The euro rose Wednesday to $1.4923, while the dollar fell to 108.80 yen.


Light, sweet crude for September delivery rose 89 cents to $113.90 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midafternoon in Singapore. The contract dropped $1.44 overnight to settle at $113.01 a barrel.


Nymex crude is down about $33, or 22 percent, from its high of $147.27 on July 11.


"I think a drop of 20 percent is a bit over done," Kornafel said. "We've fallen too far, too fast. I expect the market to sit between 110 and 120 in the short-term."


Investors are waiting for a report by the U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration on U.S. oil stocks for the week ended Aug. 8 later in the day. The petroleum supply report was expected to show that crude stocks rose by 500,000 barrels, according to the average of analysts' estimates in a survey by energy research firm Platts.


Investors "have taken profits as they've seen demand destruction in the U.S. and they're seeing it spread a little into Europe," said Jonathan Kornafel, Asia director for brokerage Hudson Capital Energy in Singapore.


The Platts survey also showed that analysts projected gasoline inventories to have fallen 2.2 million barrels and distillates to have risen 1.9 million barrels during last week.


In London, Brent crude for September delivery rose 57 cents to $111.72 a barrel.


The International Energy Agency lowered its forecast on Tuesday for oil product demand from 30 developed countries, located mostly in Europe and North America, to 48.6 million barrels a day, down 1.3 percent from last year.


The Paris-based energy watchdog's report arrived a day after China said its crude imports in July, while historically strong, were down 7 percent from the same month last year.


The IEA cautioned that it is too early to determine whether the recent fall in oil prices is a longer-term trend. It said demand in developing countries could offset declines in developed nations, and that it sees Chinese oil demand continuing to grow at a robust pace.


"The question is where will the number level off at for China in the next few months," Kornafel said. "China is an enormous driver for the price of oil, along with India, Brazil and the Middle East."


In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures rose 2.59 cent to $3.104 a gallon (3.8 liters) while gasoline prices gained 2.85 cent to $2.8717 a gallon. Natural gas futures rose 8.4 cents to $8.414 per 1,000 cubic feet.