RTRS:Brent rises above $113 on lower U.S. crude stocks forecast
* Obama could unveil $300 bln jobs package on Thursday
* Brent/WTI spread eases from record high
* Coming Up: U.S. weekly API crude stocks; 2030 GMT (Updates prices, adds China economy comments)
By Francis Kan
SINGAPORE, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Brent crude rose above $113 a barrel for the second consecutive day on Wednesday, boosted by expectations of lower U.S. crude stockpiles after a storm disrupted production in the Gulf of Mexico.
A Reuters poll ahead of the weekly inventory report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed an average forecast for a drop of 1.9 million barrels in the week to Sept. 2.
Tropical Storm Lee, which made landfall over the weekend, was also expected to have disrupted imports, adding to the impact of Hurricane Irene, which forced the closure of several oil hubs on the U.S. East Coast the previous weekend.
Front-month Brent LCOc1 gained 45 cents to $113.34 a barrel by 0555 GMT, after settling up $2.81 on Tuesday. U.S. crude CLc1 was trading at $86.46 a barrel, up 43 cents.
"The disruption to Gulf production is supporting prices, and with storms coming more often to the United States, it could be a bullish factor until the end of hurricane season," said Tetsu Emori, a fund manager at Astramax Co. Ltd. in Tokyo.
More than half of U.S. Gulf oil production remained shut as of Tuesday in the wake of Tropical Storm Lee, which dissipated on Monday, although its after-effects have delayed a swifter restart.
A broad area of low pressure located over the southern Gulf of Mexico has a medium 40 percent chance of becoming a tropical cyclone in the next 48 hours, the U.S. National Hurricane Center forecast.
Brent crude could rise towards $115.36, while U.S. oil is expected to revisit the Sept 1 high of $89.90, Reuters market analyst Wang Tao says.
According to a new Reuters survey, official forecasters are overestimating the pace of oil demand growth for 2012, reflecting the deepening uncertainty facing oil markets over the next year.
To help ease the fears of oil demand falling in the world's biggest energy consumer, market participants are betting that U.S. President Barack Obama may announce new stimulus measures to boost the flagging U.S. economy.
Obama is expected to unveil a $300 billion package to create new jobs in an address to Congress on Thursday, CNN reported, citing Democratic sources.
Fears of a sharp slowdown in China eased after an influential government economist said the world's second-biggest energy consumer would be able to achieve a soft landing for its economy.
European stocks were poised to follow Asian shares higher on Wednesday as investors hunted for bargains, while the euro edged up against the dollar as traders covered some bets against the common currency following a sharp overnight fall.
The weaker dollar, which fell 0.5 percent against a basket of currencies, helped boost dollar-denominated oil by making it cheaper when purchased in other currencies.
The WTI/Brent spread CL-LCO1=R was steady at $26.82 a barrel, after hitting a record above $27 in intraday trade on Tuesday as Brent crude strengthened on tight North Sea supplies and data showing strong growth in the U.S. services sector in August.
