NEW YORK, April 11 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Thursday, pressured by lowered forecasts for growth in global oil demand this year and swelling U.S. crude oil inventories, which have risen to their highest in more than two decades.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) cut its 2013 global oil demand growth forecast on Thursday, following similar moves earlier this week by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Sputtering economic growth in the United States and several developing economies and a recession in parts of Europe have combined to erode demand for fuel at a time when oil production has been increasing rapidly, particularly in North America.
"Markets are well supplied," said Olivier Jakob, managing director of energy consultancy Petromatrix in Zug, Switzerland.
U.S. crude oil inventories rose last week and now stand at their highest level since 1990, according to the EIA's weekly report on Wednesday.
Gasoline stocks independently held in Europe's Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp hub climbed to their highest level in almost five years last week, data from analyst Patrick Kulsen showed on Thursday.
Brent May crude fell $1 to $104.79 a barrel at 11:27 a.m. EDT (1527 GMT). Brent's May contract expires on Monday.
U.S. May crude was down 50 cents at $94.14 a barrel, back below its 50-day moving average of $94.33. It dropped as low as $93.96 during the session.
U.S. RBOB gasoline continued to sag, falling more than 2 cents. The benchmark distillate futures contract also fell more than 2 cents.
Oil prices slipped even as world stock markets rose for a fourth day, receiving a lift from an unexpected drop in U.S. initial jobless claims last week.
A weaker dollar, usually supportive for dollar-denominated commodities, did not prevent the price weakness in the oil futures complex.
LOWER DEMAND GROWTH EXPECTATIONS
The IEA on Thursday cut its forecast for global oil demand growth this year by 25,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 795,000 bpd, citing weaker-than-expected oil use in developed economies, particularly Europe and Japan, as well as Russia and India.
"A slightly weaker demand trend is forecast," the IEA, which advises industrialized countries on energy policy, said in its monthly report.
GEOPOLITICAL CONCERNS
Oil's price drop continues to be moderated by ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the Korean peninsula.
South Korea and the United States were on high alert for a North Korean missile test launch on Thursday, with North Korea celebrating the rule of the Kim dynasty.
South Korea could become the second major buyer to face a halt in crude oil imports from Iran, as insurers broaden Western sanctions to refineries, according to sources involved with the matter.
Talks last weekend between Iran and major powers yielded little progress in resolving the dispute over Tehran's nuclear program. (Reporting by Robert Gibbons in New York, Christopher Johnson in London and Ramya Venugopal in Chennai, India; Editing by Peter Galloway)
