By Ann Koh April 30 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil is set to gain for a third month after reports showed European economic confidence increased and jobless claims in Germany and the U.S. declined, adding to signs the global economy is recovering. Oil rose for a third day after a European Commission report showed yesterday a gauge of executive and consumer sentiment in the euro-area rose this month even as Greece’s fiscal crisis sent ripples across the region. Oil also advanced before a report that may show the U.S. economy grew at a 3.3 percent annual pace in the first quarter. “The focus is on tonight’s U.S. GDP numbers,” said Gordon Kwan, head of regional energy research at Mirae Asset Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong. “Oil prices will continue rallying and we could see WTI trading up to $87 a barrel if GDP growth is more than consensus.” Crude oil for June delivery rose as much as 46 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $85.63 a barrel. It was at $85.49 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 1:09 p.m. Singapore time. Yesterday, the contract climbed $1.95, or 2.3 percent, to $85.17. German unemployment declined at the fastest pace in more than two years this month, government data showed yesterday. U.S. jobless claims fell to a one-month low of 448,000 in the week ended April 24, in line with the forecast of economists in a Bloomberg survey. ‘Sources of Uncertainty’ The U.S. Coast Guard and BP Plc have been trying to contain a gusher of crude spewing from the seafloor for more than a week from a damaged well in the Gulf of Mexico. At the current rate oil is spilling from the well, by the third week of June the spill will exceed the volume dumped after the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Alaska’s Prince William Sound in 1989. The leak, which is five times bigger than previously estimated, prompted Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal to declare a state of emergency, and led Senator Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat, to ask Obama to indefinitely suspend plans to expand offshore drilling for oil and natural gas. “There are sources of uncertainty in the market that have threatened to derail confidence in the economic recovery, but we are still seeing an encouraging flow of data in the U.S. and elsewhere,” said Toby Hassall, a commodity analyst at CWA Global Markets Pty in Sydney. “There seemed to be a little less concern with events unfolding in Europe.” OPEC Supplies The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, supplier of about 40 percent of the world’s oil, will ship 23.3 million barrels a day in the four weeks to May 15, compared with 23.36 million in the month ended April 17, according to tanker-tracker Oil Movements. The second supply reduction will come after Asian refiners cut imports and shut plants for maintenance, the consultant said. The drop reported last week was the first since March 20. The data exclude Ecuador and Angola. “Oil prices just couldn’t fall below $80 a barrel,” said Kwan. “That’s because OPEC continues to restrain their output and China continues to import.” Brent crude for June settlement rose as much as 33 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $87.23 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. It was at $87.05 a barrel at 1:14 p.m. Singapore time. Yesterday, the contract gained 74 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $86.90. --With assistance from Ben Sharples in Melbourne. Editors: Ryan Woo, Ang Bee Lin. To contact the reporter on this story: Ann Koh in Singapore at akoh15@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Clyde Russell at crussell7@bloomberg.net.

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