NYMEX-U.S. crude dips near $93 on commodity index rebalance
PERTH, Jan 9 (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures inched down towards $93 in early Asian trading on Wednesday after the annual rebalancing of the S&P GSCI commodity index, which increased its weighting for Brent and reduced its share of U.S. WTI crude. The S&P GSCI commodity index is one of two leading indices for investors.
FUNDAMENTALS
* U.S. crude for February delivery had dipped 10 cents to $93.05 a barrel by 0038 GMT.
* Brent crude for February settled at $111.94 per barrel in London on Tuesday.
* The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Tuesday that domestic production should jump 25 percent through 2014 as rapid improvements in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technology boost production from shale deposits.
* U.S. crude stocks rose 2.4 million barrels last week, according to the weekly inventory report from industry group the American Petroleum Institute (API), released on Tuesday after settlement prices had been posted.
* Crude stocks were expected to be up 1.5 million barrels, with gasoline stocks seen rising 2.3 million barrels and distillate inventories expected to have risen 2.0 million barrels, according to a Reuters analyst survey.
* The market is also anticipating trade data from China later in the week, seeking confirmation the world's No. 2 oil consuming nation is reviving the pace of economic growth. Trade numbers due on Thursday from China may show export growth rebounded from three-month lows in December.
MARKETS NEWS
* Asian shares inched up on Wednesday but the upside was limited as investors waited warily for corporate earnings season to kick off in full force, preferring in the meantime to book profits from a sharp rally at the start of the year.
* The yen continued to rise against the dollar and the euro in early Asian trading on Wednesday despite expectations of further easing steps from the Bank of Japan, as investors locked in gains. The euro dropped to 113.80 yen after falling as far as 113.55 yen, its lowest level since late December.
DATA/EVENTS The following data is expected on Wednesday: 1100 Germany Industrial output mm Nov 2012 1130 Indi M3 Money Supply 1530 U.S. EIA petroleum status report Weekly
(Reporting by Rebekah Kebede; Editing by Joseph Radford)